Comic strips can often be good resources for driving home a concept. They provide an interruption in the process, and create a mental "exclamation point" for reference. And they give us a chance to show the dismal science doesn't necessarily have to be that way all the time. Yesterday there were three useable comic strips that can be used in discussion of three quite different topics.
First, Dilbert's creator seems to be on one of his occasional side-trips to the imaginary country of Elbonia, which appears to be going through a period of hyperinflation. Change the name of the country to a certain African country that shall remain nameless, but rhymes with Grimbabwe and you may have a few resources to use when discussing inflation.
Second, the comic strip Curtis (courtesy of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer) gives us an interesting segue for discussing the prioritization of wants and status (as in Thorstein Veblen's conspicuous consumption), as well as something we can use in conjunction with yesterday's post on this blog about Who Pays?
Finally, the cartoon Non-Sequitur may have discovered what triggered the credit crisis - or what might be prolonging it.
Feel free to share your ideas.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
3 comments:
i find that one picture is worth a ten textbook pages...thanks!
Foreign debt-to-GDP ratios rose from 100% to 167% in the four large ASEAN economies in 1993-96, then shot up beyond 180% during the worst of the crisis. In Korea, the ratios rose from 13-21% and then as high as 40%, while the other Northern NICs fared much better. Only in Thailand and Korea did debt service-to-exports ratios rise.Although most of the governments of Asia had seemingly sound fiscal policies, the International Monetary Fund stepped in to initiate a $40 billion program to stabilize the currencies of South Korea, Thailand, and Indonesia, economies particularly hard hit by the crisis. The efforts to stem a global economic crisis did little to stabilize the domestic situation in Indonesia, however. After 30 years in power, President Suharto was forced to step down in May 1998 in the wake of widespread rioting that followed sharp price increases caused by a drastic devaluation of the rupiah. The effects of the crisis lingered through 1998. In the Philippines growth dropped to virtually zero in 1998. Only Singapore and Taiwan proved relatively insulated from the shock, but both suffered serious hits in passing, the former more so due to its size and geographical location between Malaysia and Indonesia. By 1999, however, analysts saw signs that the economies of Asia were beginning to recover.
-----------------------------------------------------
francis
Link Building
Foreign debt-to-GDP ratios rose from 100% to 167% in the four large ASEAN economies in 1993-96, then shot up beyond 180% during the worst of the crisis. In Korea, the ratios rose from 13-21% and then as high as 40%, while the other Northern NICs fared much better. Only in Thailand and Korea did debt service-to-exports ratios rise.Although most of the governments of Asia had seemingly sound fiscal policies, the International Monetary Fund stepped in to initiate a $40 billion program to stabilize the currencies of South Korea, Thailand, and Indonesia, economies particularly hard hit by the crisis. The efforts to stem a global economic crisis did little to stabilize the domestic situation in Indonesia, however. After 30 years in power, President Suharto was forced to step down in May 1998 in the wake of widespread rioting that followed sharp price increases caused by a drastic devaluation of the rupiah. The effects of the crisis lingered through 1998. In the Philippines growth dropped to virtually zero in 1998. Only Singapore and Taiwan proved relatively insulated from the shock, but both suffered serious hits in passing, the former more so due to its size and geographical location between Malaysia and Indonesia. By 1999, however, analysts saw signs that the economies of Asia were beginning to recover.
-----------------------------------------------------
francis
Link Building
Post a Comment