The Western Media’s War Against Cyprus And Russia

This about Economy, tagged , , , , , , was written by for on March 21, 2013 .42 Comments

If you ever manage to get a troupe as diverse as Latynina, Mark Adomanis, the Cypriot Communist Party, virtually every financial analyst, Prokhorov, and Putin united in condemning your crass stupidity and cack-handedness, it’s probably time to stop and ponder. But it’s safe to say that’s not what the Troika – the European Commission, European Central Bank, and IMF […]

A Few Myths About Chavez’s Venezuela

This about Economy, tagged , , was written by for on March 9, 2013 .6 Comments

Okay, I promise this will be the last post on the matter. But some of the tropes that come up time and time again in coverage of Chavez’s legacy, from neocons and faux-leftists alike, just have to be addressed for me to rest easy. Note that this is NOT meant to be comprehensive; just some […]

Russia Now Produces As Many Cars As The USSR Did At Its Peak

This about Economy, tagged , , , was written by for on February 25, 2013 .14 Comments

As I write the book, I create a lot of graphs. Here is one of them. So in manufacturing terms, as far as cars are concerned, the “deindustrialization” era is decidedly over. Of course it’s also important to note that in 1985 they were producing this whereas today they are producing this as well as various […]

Russia’s Budget Is Getting More Transparent

This about Economy, tagged , , was written by for on January 24, 2013 .3 Comments

Not often that you see Russia in some color other than bloody red on a world map of corruption or institutional quality. But according to the Open Budget Index (2012 results), the Russian budget is actually pretty transparent as far as these things go. Of the major countries, only the UK (88), France (83), and […]

Andrew Ryvkin’s Strange Ideas About The Russian Economy

This about Economy, tagged , , , was written by for on January 21, 2013 .6 Comments

By the usual standards of Guardian reporting on Russia, this one by GQ Russia editor Andrew Ryvkin is… well, about par for the course. Citing a recent PwC report that Russia will overtake Germany to become Europe’s biggest economy in 2030, he asks, “Should we believe them?” Well, the PwC is just repeating predictions made […]

Blast From The Past: What Jim Rogers Said About Russia In 2003

This about Economy, tagged , , , , was written by for on September 21, 2012 .4 Comments

This guy isn’t as clear-headed as Eric Kraus, is he? But does have company in the form of Andrew Miller, Jeffrey Tailer, “Streetwise Professor”, and Ed Lucas. H/t Mark Adomanis. —– Original Message —–  From: Dmitry Alimov  To: [email protected]  Sent: Friday, September 12, 2003 11:28 PM  Subject: Conversation with Jim Rogers – HILARIOUS Jim Rogers, a famous international investor […]

Russia Overtaking USSR, Converging With West, On Food, Housing Consumption

This about Economy, tagged , , was written by for on August 18, 2012 .4 Comments

Just to hammer down the myth of Russian impoverishment one more time (with the help of graphs from Sergey Zhuravlev’s blog)… In the past few years, in terms of basic necessities (food, clothing, housing) Russia has basically (re)converged to where the Soviet Union left off. Here is a graph of food consumption via Zhuravlev. At the bottom, the […]

The World Economy’s Orbit

This about Economy, tagged , , was written by for on August 15, 2012 .1 Comment

The map below shows the shifting location of the world’s economic center of gravity. It was compiled by McKinsey and reproduced by The Economist. All is broadly as one might expect. In pre-industrial times, the world’s economic center of gravity was always basically triangulated between India, China, and the Roman Empire (later North-West Europe). By […]

On Defending The Soviet Union

This about Economy, tagged , , , , , , , was written by for on July 12, 2012 .196 Comments

Contrary to what some might try to take from my post on the longterm failure of the Soviet economy, I am not an anti-Soviet ideologue. I loathe lies about its achievements and the blanket condemnations directed its way by moralistic poseurs every bit as much or more than I detest reality-challenged attempts to paint it […]

Ayn Stalin: Soviet Inequalities In 1929-1954

This about Economy, tagged , , , , was written by for on June 24, 2012 .15 Comments

While researching my article on Soviet economic performance relative to the US (it was bad), I came across this fascinating graph showing income inequality in the USSR since 1946. As you can see, the 10% richest Soviet citizens in the first postwar year were more than seven times as rich as the 10% poorest. That is […]

The Soviet Economy – Charting Failure

This about Economy, tagged , , , , , was written by for on June 22, 2012 .143 Comments

Many Communists, leftists, and even patriots (I’m sorry to say) have a pronounced tendency to make out the Soviet economy as not quite the resounding failure it really was – or even to paint it as a success story that was only brought down by perestroika and liberal reforms. The above chart – based on […]

Russian Wages Are Fast Converging To Western Levels

This about Economy, tagged , , , was written by for on June 21, 2012 .22 Comments

Via The Economist, I’ve come across some fascinating research by Orley Ashenfelter and Stepan Jurajda (Comparing Real Wage Rates, 2012) showing how real wages can be meaningfully compared across different regions by taking notes on prices and wages in McDonald’s restaurants. The methodology seems solid. Big Macs are a very standardized product, hence they are already […]