Every sensible human being has an ideal imagination of how their perfect world should look like. While some may fancy the efficiency of a fast moving world, with fast cars, high speed internet, and availability of plenty of clean water, others prefer a simple life with fewer things to worry about. However, as a society evolves so does the economic indicators in that society transform to meet their new level. Generally, very few, to none, countries have achieved a perfectly complete economy. With that in mind, we shall look at some of the countries that have achieved more in terms of economic values based on my choice of measurable factors.
Economic indicators are those economic factors that change simultaneously or just before the business cycle (Economic Indicators - Series 6). They are very essential in determining the state of the economy. generally there are three types of economic indicators; leading, lagging and coincidental indicators. Leading indicators are those that change before the economy redirects to a particular trend. Leading indicators are used for predicting changes in the economy by analysts. Lagging indicators are those that change after the economy has started following a particular trend. Interest rates, unemployment rates, corporate profit and cost of labor are just a few examples of lagging indicators.
For our interest, in this paper, is the last type of economic indicators, known as coincidental indicators. These are the economic changes that take place simultaneously as the business cycle also takes on a new trend. They usually determine the state of the economy. examples include non agricultural employment rates, personal income among many others that will be discussed in this paper. Analyzing economic indicators is very essential for investors in any market.
In order to evaluate how different top countries have participated in ensuring they have a quite smooth running economy chose to look at their performance on ten different measurable economic factors. This will indicate their level of economic development and general lifestyles of the people within those countries. here is the list of the 10 objectively measurable economic factors I chose for this study.
Life expectancy
Literacy rates
Level of information technology
Personal Income
Transport industry
Clean water supply
Money supply
Low Crime Rate
Income difference between the top class and the bottom class
The housing industry
I ranked the measurable economic factors based on my interests and level of priority as follows: Monetary supply, personal income, income difference, level of information technology, life expectancy, the housing industry, clean water supply, transport industry, literacy levels and finally crime rate according to countries (Auer and Fortuny 5).
Discussion
Monetary Supply
Monetary supply is an important factor for any country. All nations are responsible for ensuring supply of money within the economy is achieved at the most optimum level. This includes use of fiscal and monetary policies to regulate supply. Too much money in the economy will raise inflation, making the people suffer. Higher prices of goods, means employees will seek for higher salaries (Tan 55). Here are the top four countries that have performed well within this economic indicator.
Source: ieconomics.com
Personal income
Personal income or per capita income is the average amount of money each individual is expected to earn in a country. It is obtained through dividing the GDP of a country with the total population of individuals in the work force. Countries with high personal income have citizens with better lives and production based economies. Here is a list of the top four countries.
Source: indexmundi.com
Income difference between the rich the poor
It is not easy to have citizens with equal amounts of income in any country. However, best countries try to ensure the income differences between incomes of high official employees are not very huge. When the gap between the rich and the poor is so high, the development rate of a country to grow. This is because those with enough money to invest waste it on expenditure.
Source: conferenceboard.ca
Level of Information Technology
Information technology has evolved to become a basic component of economies in the modern world. Those countries with perfect systems in IT are best in distribution of information including public messages, security briefings and business information. This gives them an upper hand in terms of development.
Source: forbes.com
Life Expectancy
Life expectancy for any developed or developing country is a consequence of very many factors including healthcare, government policies and security. nations with a longer life expectancy have a well distributed population and population is productive in the long run. When people know they will live longer, they are likely to save and invest more.
Source: infoplease.com
The Housing Industry
Housing is a very important factor when evaluating the economic position of any country. countries with best housing are more likely to be the best performing countries. Although some economists argue that real estate is not a good investment option for countries in the short run, the population must be accorded good houses. On the other hand, good houses should also go with affordability.
Source: money.cnn.com
Clean Water Supply
For developed countries providing clean water to its citizens is very important. However with unpredictable weather changes and rapid population growth water supply need to be frequently monitored to ensure that there is consistency in supply throughout the year. This also includes drought seasons. Clean water supply might a simple yet influential economic indicator.
Source: therichest.com
Transport Industry
Transport is a very essential factor in moving raw materials, finished products and human resource from one place to another. Essentially, good transport networks open up places for investment and others for markets. When people are able to move easily, mobility of the various factors of production becomes enhanced and production is increases. The value of a good transport system lies within the government’s policies to ensure everyone gets where they are going with the best means available. Rail road, electric supply and general infrastructure.
Source: rediff.com
Literacy Levels
Education is very vital in driving a productive population. countries that ensure children are well educated produce healthy population for succession of development goals in real education. Quality education includes good teachers and good schools. Infrastructure in schools should also rhyme with the curriculum at the time. the curriculum should be updated regularly to suit the needs of the real world. In fact one of the best ways to teach a population about real world issues is through using problem based teaching methods that students can relate to their personal backgrounds.
Source: worldatlas.com
Low Crime Rate
Crime rate is dependent on very many economic and social factors. Unemployment and unequal distribution of resources are the leading factors that may affect crime rate in a country. Various theorists and scholars agree that crime is increased by social difference between the rich and the poor. In this regard they claim that it the poor that are likely to attack the rich in a bid to express the economic imbalance between the two societies. This however is still debatable. Other scholars also agree that organized groups and battles for supremacy are the leading causes of increased crime rates. On the other hand crime rates may affect investment and other industries such as tourism and agriculture. Here are the top four countries with low crime rate.
Source: elist10.com
Conclusion Best Country to Live In
Singapore seems to be a top country from the evidence of the tables. Low crime rates topped with good education and a healthy population places this country as the best one to settle for business or work. The other countries have either specialized on only a few of the areas or have complications in dealing with certain matters. Essentially, Singapore proves to be a well definitive destination for business (Stock and Watson 15). According to a post by BBC on their website, Singapore is listed as the least corrupt country in the world. This directly translates to good distribution of resources, delivery of services to the people and a well pushed agenda.
The economic indicators play a key role in determining the economic status of any country as observed from the tables. Countries that rank higher must ensure their economic indicators are taken care of at the right time. Finally, for settling and business based on economic factors on the society I would choose Singapore.
Works Cited
Auer, Peter, and Mariàngels Fortuny. "Ageing of the Labour Force in OECD Countries: Economic and Social Consequences." (0): Print.
"Economic Indicators - Series 6." Investopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
Stock, James H., and Mark W. Watson. "A Probability Model of the Coincident Economic Indicators." (2006): Print.
Tan, Cheryl L. Singapore Noir. N.p., 2014. Print.
"Why Does Singapore Top So Many Tables?" BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
