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The World's Most Competitive Economies
The World's Most Competitive Economies
Oct 19, 2018
Earlier this week, the World Economic Forum released its annual study on the competitiveness of the global economy. One of the most important takeaways from the report was an index ranking assessing the microeconomic and macroeconomic foundations of national competitiveness. The World Economic Forum defines national competitiveness as the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country.
The core finding of the research this year is how economic competitiveness is evolving and changing in a world that is being transformed by new digital technology. As a result, there are major risks for governments and business who are failing to adapt to and overcome current technological challenges.
The United States came first for national competitiveness, scoring 85.6 out of 100. Thie is primarily due to its good performance in the Business Dynamism, Financial System and the Labor Market categories. The World Economic Forum also mentioned that the world's most competitive economies also have room to improve and the U.S. is no exception. It still has work to do in improving its score across the Institutions, ICT Adoption and Product Market categories. Singapore came second with a score of 85.6 while Germany rounded off the top-three with 82.8.
GDP per capita
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a strong indicator of a country’s economic performance and strength. It is measured by the added value of all final goods and services produced in a country during a specific time period or by adding every person’s income during that time period. Gross domestic product per capita is sometimes used to describe the standard of living of a population, with a higher GDP meaning a higher standard of living.
Global gross domestic product
Global gross domestic product (GDP) amounts to almost 75 trillion U.S. dollars, with the United States making up more than 18 percent of it alone. Interestingly enough, China, one of the BRIC-states, is following closely. The BRIC- states (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are the four major emerging countries (click here for further information). It is also estimated that China will report the highest GDP in 2030, thus replacing the United States at the top.
The gross domestic product of a country is calculated by taking spending and trade into account, to show how much the country can produce in a certain amount of time, usually per year. It represents the value of all goods and services produced during that year. Both industrialized and emerging countries account for approximately 50 percent of global gross domestic product each.
How Long Do You Have To Work To Afford An iPhone X?
How Long Do You Have To Work To Afford An iPhone X?
Jun 5, 2018
The iPhone X had a price tag of $999 on launch day in November 2017 making it the most expensive version of the device ever manufactured. Most of the time it was even more expensive outside the U.S. due to sales and import taxes. Even though many feared the phone could flop due to that high price tag, Apple reported better than expected results for its second fiscal quarter in early May. The company is still firmly on course to surpass the trillion-dollar mark in market capitalization.
Even though the phone is proving a financial success for Apple, it is still prohibitively expensive for people on an average wage across much of the globe. Swiss Bank UBS conducted an analysis of the device's price for someone on an average wage in 15 different professions in major cities. It found that in Zurich for example, which is incredibly affluent, somebody would have to work almost 5 days straight to get their hands on the iPhone X. For an average New Yorker, 6.7 days would be required.
If that sounds like a lot, spare a thought for people in Africa dreaming of buying Apple's flagship smartphone. Lagos, Nigeria, is one of the world's fastest growing cities and the most populous conurbation on the African continent. Wages are still extremely low there and somebody hoping to buy an iPhone X on an average wage would have tot work for 133 days. The Kenyan capital of Nairobi is a little bit better off with an average earning needing 72 days of work to purchase the handset.
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