Stats + Stories

According to the U.S. State Department, three-fifths of global GDP, three-quarters of world trade, and 90 percent of official development assistance can be accounted for in 38 countries. Those countries are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development – or OECD. Founded in 1961 and headquartered in Paris, the OECD’s goals include stimulating global economic growth by providing a forum for intergovernmental collaboration. It’s also the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guest Steve MacFeely. 

How important is it for businesses to increase their profits each year or offer fair wages to workers of all types? How do you think businesses are doing in these areas or, even in other areas, such as operating in a way that is sustainable for the environment and the planet? A Gallup poll of more than 5700 people provided responses to these questions and it was natural to ask how these questions might be connected and whether the pattern of connection differed between groups. Using networks to understand the connection between opinions about how businesses function is the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guests Dr. Moinak Bhaduri and Bahareh Zahirodini.

In 2016, the Australian government launched a program it said would make tracking welfare benefits easier. Instead, it falsely told hundreds of thousands of Australians they owed the government money, with some of those individuals taking their own lives as a result. Australia's robodebt tragedy is the focus of this episode of Stats+Stories with guests Noel Cressie and Dennis Trewin.

Journalists are often tasked with making complicated information accessible to a wide audience. Given mere minutes or inches to communicate information that might have taken a researcher pages to explain. Financial data can be particularly tricky to translate as it can require not only a comfort level with numbers but also some understanding of financial markets or economic principles. Reporting on financial information is the focus of this episode of Stats+Stories with guest Alan Smith.

What is the best way to support people living in extreme poverty? Could unconditional cash transfers and universal basic income be viable options? How can we know if such programs will work? Today's episode of stats and stories focuses on addressing the needs of people living in extreme poverty with Miriam Laker.

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in early March left many wondering whether the global financial system was on the precipice of a 2008 style meltdown. Just as the waters seemed to calm after that, UBS stepped in to buy Credit Suisse as that bank collapsed and as we record this regional First Republic Bank seemed to be teetering. The risks inherent to and the regulation of banking is the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guest Dr. John Liechty.

The issue of income inequality is one Americans continually wrestle with the COVID 19 pandemic bringing to light how housing, health, and general wellbeing are impacted by the unequal distribution of wealth. Income inequality in the United States is the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guest Joseph Gastwirth.

Wendy Martinez has been serving as the Director of the Mathematical Statistics Research Center at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for six years. Prior to this, she served in several research positions throughout the Department of Defense. She held the position of Science and Technology Program Officer at the Office of Naval Research, where she established a research portfolio comprised of academia and industry performers developing data science products for the future Navy and Marine Corps. She was honored by the American Statistical Association when she received the ASA Founders Award at the JSM 2017 conference. Wendy is also proud and grateful to have been elected as the 2020 ASA President.

Andreas V. Georgiou is an economist with specializations in Monetary Theory and Stabilization Policy and in International Trade and Finance. After working for the International Monetary Fund, he returned to Greece in 2010 to head the newly established Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT)-the successor of the National Statistical Service of Greece following the onset of the economic crisis in Greece.

Diane Coyle. Diane is founder of Enlightenment Economics , and Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge. She was recently appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for "services to Economics and the Public Understanding of Economics". She is also the author of the 2014 book -- GDP A Brief but Affectionate History.

Bonnie Ghosh-Dastidar is a senior statistician and Director of the Statistics Advisory Center at RAND Corporation. Her current research interests center on leveraging natural experiment designs to estimate the effects of neighborhood-level 'interventions' or changes on residents' health behaviors (e.g. diet, physical activity) and outcomes (e.g. obesity). Her statistical expertise is in the areas of study design, survey methods, non-response, and analysis of longitudinal and multilevel data.

Glenn Platt ​(@glennplatt) is the C. Michael Armstrong Professor of Network Technology & Management & Director of Interactive Media Studies at Miami University​​. He is interested in social media marketing, digital media and e-Commerce​​. He is also the faculty ​sponsor of the Esports team at Miami.

Paul Hunter is managing director of Customer Knowledge at dunnhumby . Customer Knowledge is understanding what customers feel, think and do to empower dunnhumby’s clients strategies. dunnhumby works with the world’s largest retailers and brands. Paul has over 25 years in leveraging data and technology to improve marketing decisions.

Alex Blumberg is a radio and podcast producer who has launched the podcast 'Startup' - a "series about what happens when someone who knows nothing about business starts one." He had a long a celebrated public radio career at Planet Moneyand, while there, produced the award winning episode Giant Pool of Money about the housing crises and Wall Street reaction in the late 2000s. He joined the Stats+Stories regulars to talk about reporting financial stories and other stories with strong numeric foundations. 

Chris Whittaker Sofge is a toxicologist who leads a team that conducts quantitative risk assessment for hazards in the workplace. She is the Chief of the Risk Evaluation Branch in the Education and Information Division at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/). Her group conducts quantitative risk assessment for hazards in the workplace.

Tommy Wright, statistician in the US Census Center for Statistical Research and Methodology, joined the Stats+Stories regulars to discuss what the US Census Bureau does and why it is important. (The Census data visualization library is a treat and should be explored by anyone with an interest in viewing characteristics of the US.)