“On 7 May 2013
economic historian Morten Jerven presented his influential recent book PoorNumbers: How We are Misled by African Development Statistics and What to DoAbout it at the Africa Talks of the University of Birmingham. Grounded
in new empirical research carried out by Jerven, the book authoritatively
questions the validity of the main statistical indicators of the economic
performance of African countries. It shows that a lot of what we think we know
about African economies is best understood as ‘stories of statistical
fiction’. In this podcast, Jerven describes how he reached the conclusions
advanced in his book and what these conclusions imply for policy”
– http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/africa-hub/videos/morten.aspx