/ Events
Workshop on Statistics and Politics
Statistics and policy-making during the 19th and 20th century was the topic of a workshop organized by Cornelia Knab and Milena Guthörl, in cooperation with the Basel Graduate School of History. The event took place on Friday, Deccember 5, at the Institute for European Global Studies.
Recently, an increasing number of historical research has been dedicated to answering the question of how statistical expertise and numerical knowledge impacted policy making, ranging from economic regulation to social measures. However, the interrelation between statistics, science and “evidence-based” policy-making has been little analyzed when it comes to social welfare systems and public health.
The workshop”Statistics and policy-making during the 19th and 20th century” was concerned with the historical development of statistics as scientific instrument, the use and influence of statistical expertise in private insurance, social politics (welfare state), public health, international organizations and epistemic communities and other related topics. The organizers aimed to challenge the notion of “epistemic communities”. Can the influence of statistical expertise on politics and knowledge transfer tell something about the balance of power within and between national and international bureaucracies (e.g. Governments, IOs) and the private sector?
The workshop is organized as a cooperation between Basel Graduate School of History and the Institute for European Global Studies at Basel University.
Further Information: