frankel123_Andriy OnufriyenkoGetty Images_covidstatisticsgraph Andriy Onufriyenko/Getty Images

Statistics and the Pandemic

Data are critical to fighting COVID-19, but cross-country comparisons have consistently focused too much on the wrong sort. This has given some political leaders a strong incentive to downplay the pandemic, arguably contributing to millions of deaths.

CAMBRIDGE – “There are three kinds of lies,” Mark Twain famously wrote. “Lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Too often, the COVID-19 crisis has lent support to the suspicions Twain’s bon mot expresses.

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