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Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics used in everyday life

Tim Harford explains - and sometimes debunks - the numbers and statistics used in political debate, the news and everyday life

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More or Less: How many schoolchildren are carers? Counting shareholder income, Museum visitors vs football fans

Factual: Science & Nature

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21/09/2018

How many schoolchildren are carers? Counting shareholder income, Museum visitors vs football fans

BBC Radio 4 - More or Less, How many schoolchildren are carers? Counting shareholder income, Museum visitors vs football fans

Tim Harford on child carers, shareholder income, football, museums and dangerous sports.

Tim Harford examines statistics about child carers, the death toll after Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, shareholder income, football, museums and dangerous sports.

A BBC questionnaire has found 1 in 5 children surveyed were caring for a family member with an illness or disability. The suggestion is that this could mean that 800,000 secondary-school age children are carrying out some level of care. Loyal listeners have doubted there can be so many young carers. Tim Harford and Ruth Alexander look into the numbers. 

On the 20 September 2017, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, where residents are United States citizens. George Washington University has published a report – commissioned by the Puerto Rican government – claiming that the hurricane accounted for nearly 3,000 deaths in Puerto Rico. President Trump disputed these official figures, tweeting that the Democrats were inflating the death toll to "make me look as bad as possible". So, who is right, and how do you determine who died as a result of a natural disaster? Tim Harford speaks to the lead investigator of the George Washington University report, Dr Carlos Santos-Burgoa.

The shadow chancellor John McDonnell recently claimed 'for the first time shareholders now take a greater share of national income than workers'. But is it true? Tim Harford speaks to The Financial Times’ economics editor Chris Giles.

Loyal listener David from Sheffield has been in touch to query a claim he heard on BBC Radio 4’s Start the Week that more people visit museums than attend football matches. Ruth Alexander finds out if we really do favour culture over the nation’s game.

Plus, what is the most dangerous sport? Tim Harford thinks he has the definitive answer.

Producer: Ruth Alexander

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