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Official statistics, public policy and public trust

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  • D. Tim Holt

Abstract

Summary. The question of public confidence in official statistics has been central to government statistical policy for the last 10 years. This year the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 was passed. The paper suggests key characteristics of the new arrangements that will be needed if public confidence in the official statistics outputs is to be strengthened. It is argued that this will depend on public confidence in the statistical system as a whole rather than just the new Board. The organizational structure of the UK statistical system is described and this is linked to the issue of public confidence. Finally the wider questions of evidence‐based policy and the use of statistics and statistical thinking throughout government are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • D. Tim Holt, 2008. "Official statistics, public policy and public trust," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 171(2), pages 323-346, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jorssa:v:171:y:2008:i:2:p:323-346
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-985X.2007.00523.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sheila M. Bird & Cox Sir David & Vern T. Farewell & Goldstein Harvey & Holt Tim & Smith Peter C., 2005. "Performance indicators: good, bad, and ugly," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 168(1), pages 1-27, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Matt Jenkins, 2019. "The Social Construction of Official Statistics: The Case of the UK ‘Measuring National Well-being’ Programme," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 143(2), pages 881-899, June.
    2. Martín-Guzmán, Pilar, 2016. "Desafíos actuales en la estadística oficial /Challenges in Official Statistics," Estudios de Economia Aplicada, Estudios de Economia Aplicada, vol. 34, pages 501-520, Agosto.
    3. Vicente Maria R. & López Ana J., 2017. "Figuring Figures: Exploring Europeans’ Knowledge of Official Economic Statistics," Journal of Official Statistics, Sciendo, vol. 33(4), pages 1051-1085, December.
    4. Sylvia Richardson, 2022. "Statistics in times of increasing uncertainty," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 185(4), pages 1471-1496, October.

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