What We Know About What We Don’t Know About Development

How good are the data that drives international development policies? It turns out, not that great. This week’s episode comes in two parts. First, I speak with Morten Jerven, author of Poor Numbers: How We Are Misled by African Development Statistics and What to Do about it who offers an excellent overview of the situation. Next, Mark speaks with someone who is actively trying to solve this problem. Mayra Buvinich is a senior fellow with the United Nations Foundation and helped start Data2X, which is a collaboration that seeks to improve the quality of data and statistics about women and girls in the developing world.