Why Do Governments Do Stupid Things?
Overconfidence, poor evidence, party politics - why governments blunder.
The Inquiry · BBC World Service
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Show Notes
Trust in government is at an all-time low in many countries. From failed healthcare policies to missed intelligence, government blunders happen often – and visibly. But successful policy-making is hard (and fixes are rarely as quick as politicians like to promise).
Some argue that governments would do stupid things less often if they based their policies on the careful analysis of good evidence; find out what works, in other words, and then do that.
But that’s not how most governments operate, most of the time.
Why not?
Presenter: Michael Blastland
(Photo: a group of journalists being surrounded by the Media. Credit Shutterstock)