World Economy: World Recovery?

Here are four related links that can be used a number of ways. They have possibilities for illustrating interdependence and globalization; the business cycle, growth and recession; and barriers to and benefits of trade. And I suspect there are more.

The first link is from an article in last week's issue of The Economist. The main point of the article is the recovery. It points out that the recession hit all countries. But so far, the recovery has not been evenly experienced. It makes the case that the uneven recovery could have ramifications (good and bad) for those countries that are lagging. And, as we like to point out to our students, this can have a potential impact on our own economy.

The next two links are graphs that can be used with the previously mentioned article (HT to Chartporn). The first chart is from The Economist, and illustrates the depth and length of the current recession in select economies. Some of the information is surprising. Of the countries illustrated, Canada fared the best. And the U.S. was third - I'm not sure many of us would have guessed that, given media coverage.

The second is from the UK newspaper, The Guardian. It's more comprehensive and interactive. So, it has a bit more "meat" to it. It shows the depth of the recession (measured peak to trough in the cycle) in most of the countries in the previous graph. And it shows the current state of the economy (in recession, out of recession, dodged recession) for a large selection of developed economies.

The last link is to an interesting article in The Financial Times (registration may be required - but it's free).
The article addresses a possible negative outcome to the uneven recovery - a turning away from globalization and trade. According to the author, as countries become more concerned about their economic condition, there is a tendency to focus inward, or to scramble outward to secure resources for themselves. Both can have significant negative implications, foreign and domestic, for growth.

I would welcome your evaluation of these resources as well as any suggestions on their use.