Precisely incorrect: favoured by most economists, the GDP makes clear-cut prognoses that have only a loose connection to reality.
NO ECONOMIST would deny that welfare is more than just money, and nobody living in a market economy would doubt that money is an important element of welfare. The best way to measure non-monetary contributions to well-being, however, is not clear. As a result, economists have traditionally neglected them....

Our Marengo; The Philippines at the center of change (Speech before the Consular Corps of the Philippines, August 30, 2006).
Byline: ALBERTO G. ROMULO, Secretary of Foreign Affairs REMEMBER the first time I addressed this gathering. I had just been appointed Secretary of Foreign Affairs. In moving me from the position of Executive Secretary to Secretary of Foreign Affairs, the President said she was promoting...

Local knowledge and the interventionist dynamic during China's economic reforms, 1978-1992.
China's recent growth experience has resulted from its incorporation of local knowledge into their reforms and adept handling of the unintended consequences of the reforms. The first wave of reforms occurred in the agricultural sector and incorporated local knowledge. Their success led to some unintended consequences- the inter-provincial cotton...

'Bradstow revisited': a comparative study of class politics in Bowral, 1974 and 1997.
This study revisits the Southern Highlands community of Bowral (NSW), the subject of Ronald Wild's political examination in the late 1960s. The paper commences with an assessment of changes in the local political economy, comparing contemporary socio-economic indicators and electoral data with Wild's findings. Little change is revealed in...

Military-Economic Security: Indicators and Criteria.
The widely held views of market economy as a self-regulating system has relaxed the already insufficient attention to comprehending the workings and the use of objective economic laws. But having learned by bitter experience the price of the services of market's "invisible hand" economists have once again come to...

Guide to economic indicators; making sense of economics, 6th ed.
9781576602409 Guide to economic indicators; making sense of economics, 6th ed. Ed. by the Economist. Bloomberg Press 2007 244 pages $29.95 Hardcover HA29 As Mark Twain once said, "there are three...

Bipolar Nation.
Bill Bowtell Peter Hartcher's essay is as elegant and erudite as its author. Hartcher correctly believes that economic outcomes shape political ones. That is, the better the economic results across key indicators--employment, interest rates and inflation--the greater the certainty that any incumbent government will be returned at...

MONITORING THE CHANGING SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF NEW ZEALANDERS.
Abstract An agenda for developing a systematic, comprehensive and coherent set of annual social indicators using available statistics is advanced. Such indicators would allow the changing social conditions of New Zealanders to be regularly monitored. A preliminary attempt is essayed to assemble and display such indicators using...

Gulf poised for heady surge into 2008 & beyond: the oil boom experienced over recent years shows no immediate signs of abating. Economic analyst Moin Siddiqi looks at the future of the Gulf producers, who stand to earn $5 trillion in potential windfalls over the next 25 years if strong prices and demand are maintained.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE SIX MEMBER states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, are witnessing breathtaking growth thanks largely to the quadrupling of oil prices since 2002. In cumulative terms, total earnings in the 2002-06 period were estimated by...

Bank industry risk analysis: Australia.
This paper identifies major strengths and weaknesses of the Australian Banking Sector with a focus on risk characteristics. It notes that: the major banks are among the most profitable globally; robust industry regulation is supported by transparent accounting policies and practices; and adequate capitalization is supported by good-quality residential...