Big subject, but only a small point I want to make about the misuse of statistics. First, a debate has raged on for years about globalization, interdependence, and whether developing countries are so reliant on export markets that they are stuck with whatever business cycle problems afflict the developed world.

The debate took a new turn when the recession struck, with some folks admitting that well, with the huge drops in exports and plummeting GDP in many developing countries, it appeared as though some of these economies were not, after all, decoupled from the U.S. and EU.

The latest concerns the economic recovery:

Some argue that emerging markets will emerge from the global crisis sooner and faster than advanced economies, as the former are now the so-called “new engines of global growth”.

This should sound familiar. Lots of folks talking up China these days as the land of opportunity amidst a world of pain. Look at that real estate market! Check out the stock market! (But don't look at non-performing loans, and whatever you do, the use of the word "bubble" is absolutely verboten.)

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Read the rest of China Growth, Decoupling, and Dishonest Economists

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© Stan for China Hearsay, 2009. |
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