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The roots of the millennium development goals: a framework for studying the history of global statistics
Die Ursprünge der Milleniums-Entwicklungsziele
[journal article]
Abstract Global comparative statistics have become a major mode of international political communication. One prominent case in point is the Millennium Development Goals as defined by the United Nations in 2000. The article contributes to a critical discussion of their functioning by designing a framework fo... view more
Global comparative statistics have become a major mode of international political communication. One prominent case in point is the Millennium Development Goals as defined by the United Nations in 2000. The article contributes to a critical discussion of their functioning by designing a framework for the study of global statistics. Historians of statistics have so far largely focused on the national level and posited a strong connection between calculating social instances and governing collectives. The category of the nation was one of the foremost effects of statistics, and numbers have helped in strengthening national institutions. But what about the international realm in which the Millennium Development Goals are located? The leading question of this article is to what extent a co-construction of statistics and political institutions can also be found in the analysis of global statistics. The focus lies on statistical practices in East Africa in the epoch of late imperial rule and during decolonization. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is of special interest. Statistical knowledge was surprisingly incomplete and became a major issue only with the formation of new states and new international organizations post-1945. Statistical knowledge as represented in the Millennium Development Goals works through a radical reduction of complexity and necessarily renders a biased image of the world. In contrast to the national level, on the international level no single center of calculation emerged with the growing power of statistics. (author's abstract)... view less
Keywords
statistics; historical development; international organization; gross domestic product; economic development (on national level); economic policy; development aid; UNO; East Africa; economic statistics; developing country; combating poverty; global governance
Classification
Social History, Historical Social Research
Sociology of Developing Countries, Developmental Sociology
Methods and Techniques of Data Collection and Data Analysis, Statistical Methods, Computer Methods
Basic Research, General Concepts and History of Economics
International Relations, International Politics, Foreign Affairs, Development Policy
Document language
English
Publication Year
2016
Page/Pages
p. 218-237
Journal
Historical Social Research, 41 (2016) 2
Issue topic
Conventions and quantification - transdisciplinary perspectives on statistics and classifications
DOI
https://doi.org/10.12759/hsr.41.2016.2.218-237
ISSN
0172-6404
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed