Mathematical Tools for Political Decision-Making

This chapter describes the political experience, as ministers or prime ministers with at least master’s degrees in mathematics, of Johanna Wanka (Germany), Nuno Crato (Portugal), Josep Borrell (Spain), and Ehud Barak (Israel). The mathematical tools introduced in this chapter are elementary probability, statistics, decision trees, and theory of games. These tools are illustrated with their applications to the estimation of risks in the nuclear industry, the detection of fake statistical news, the relationship between the public expense in education and PISA results, the location of natural gas reservoirs, the nuclear deterrent during the Cold War, and the allocation of costs and benefits in multilateral infrastructures.