Most people don’t think much about economic freedom and that some countries are more free economically than others.
For the 18th year running, Hong Kong scores the highest rankings of any country in the world for:
And to point out the obvious…. Hong Kong is part of China! Check out the announcement: click here
OK, so there is a lot of doom and gloom predictions that the world is turning to ^&%$! if you track history (which has a habit of repeating) you will know that these predictions have been the same for many generations… and yet, the world we live in today is way, way better than the world of our parents.
Just look at what we can do in terms of travel, building wealth, communications, entertainment etc. etc.
I came across the below chart from the White House… yes, sure, its political… however, I do think it tells a story looking back that things have stabilized and are now improving. US economic growth is on an upswing.
The below infographic tells an interesting story when comparing the end result State by State. Different public policy, industry focus, and economic development strategies make some States more competitive than others.
Utilizing debt is one thing – how you pay it off is another… check out the below chart:
As the US Govt. Debt discussions have occupied a lot of media attention over the past weeks, I notice that there has been a lot of inaccurate facts and figures circulating around the internet. Many people believe that the Chinese Govt. owns most of the debt, when in fact it only owns 7.5% of the total.
This years Global Competitiveness Index tells an interesting story… the US is sliding down the rankings, Switzerland maintains its lead and Sweden is on the way up. Singapore goes sideways. Having said that ranked 3rd in the world is not a bad place to be! There are many factors that drive productivity and competitiveness. Understanding the various factors is a very interesting process… and if you are an investor and/or entrepreneur, where would you establish a new business? (ie: its easier to do business in countries at the top of the list)
Some people are eager to predict the end of long-term US growth. I would not be so quick. The American people have a remarkable talent for bouncing back – just take a look at the below chart of long-term real growth is US GDP. Make up your own mind…
As we consider 2011 and what direction the future will take, it is useful to look at the world as a whole and remember that the world we live in today gives us very useful clues as to how the world of tomorrow will look.
Population size and growth are not the only factors to consider, however they give you a very good idea of where things are headed.
Consider the below chart that shows that 50% of today’s world population lives in just six countries! Wow, only six countries! Clearly the USA is the most developed of the six – and the others have a long way to go in terms of development – to catch up. This adds up to lots of growth… check it out for yourself:
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