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Investors these days hear a lot about "the rise of China" or the "rise of India." In today's Wall Street Journal, Michael Milken points out:

China and India combined to produce nearly half the world's economic output in 1820 compared to just 1.8% for the U.S. Our remarkable growth since 1820 has benefited from democratic institutions, a belief in capitalism, private property rights, an entrepreneurial culture, abundant resources, openness to foreign investment, the best universities, immigration and relatively transparent markets. (Hat tip: Prof. Mankiw).

On a related note, Investor's Business Daily comments on Sweden's economy:

And it's wrong to praise Sweden's current economic performance. Sweden ranks 14th worldwide in per capita income now, but in 1970 it ranked fourth. That's a big drop.

The average Swede earns $29,800 a year. Not bad, you say? That's less than the average person in Mississippi. Some model.

Posted by edelfenbein at September 19, 2006 10:45 AM