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The Health Secretary says you're twice as likely to die from heart disease in the UK than in France. And World Health Organisation figures support his claim. But do those numbers tell the whole sto...ry? The Chancellor George Osborne said this week that he's working hard to "pay off the nation's credit card". Presumably Mr Osborne is alluding to his plans for reducing the deficit. But that's not the same as paying off debt. In fact, as we explain, he's merely trying to reduce the rate at which the nation's credit card bill is growing. Journalists reported this week that unemployment has gone up by 49,000 to 2.5 million people, over the three months to November, but the unemployment rate had remained unchanged at 7.9%. More or Less solves the riddle. Tim Harford, Rachel Riley and Alex Bellos discuss their favourite maths books. The Blue Monday formula, which claims to identify the most depressing day of the year, and which first infected the British media in 2005, strikes again.
The Health Secretary says you're twice as likely to die from heart disease in the UK than in France. And World Health Organisation figures support his claim. But do those numbers tell the whole sto...ry? The Chancellor George Osborne said this week that he's working hard to "pay off the nation's credit card". Presumably Mr Osborne is alluding to his plans for reducing the deficit. But that's not the same as paying off debt. In fact, as we explain, he's merely trying to reduce the rate at which the nation's credit card bill is growing. Journalists reported this week that unemployment has gone up by 49,000 to 2.5 million people, over the three months to November, but the unemployment rate had remained unchanged at 7.9%. More or Less solves the riddle. Tim Harford, Rachel Riley and Alex Bellos discuss their favourite maths books. The Blue Monday formula, which claims to identify the most depressing day of the year, and which first infected the British media in 2005, strikes again.
| Series: | More or less; Series 15 |
|---|---|
| Episode | 8 |
| First transmission date: | 2011-11-23 |
| Original broadcast channel: | BBC Radio 4 |
| Published: | 2011 |
| Rights Statement: | Rights owned or controlled by The Open University |
| Restrictions on use: | This material can be used in accordance with The Open University conditions of use. A link to the conditions can be found at the bottom of all OU Digital Archive web pages. |
| Duration: | 00:28:00 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Richard, Knight |
| Presenter: | Tim Harford |
| Contributors: | Ruth Alexander; Alex Bellos; Michel Coleman; Tim Harford; Rachel Riley; Sonia Roxwell; Pete Scarborough; Wesley Stephenson |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Subject terms: | Economics; Mathematics; Statistics |
| Production number: | PEF46000679/AAC |
| Available to public: | no |
