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THE RISE AND FALL OF NATIONS

Ruchir Sharma

Subtitle: Forces of Change in the Post-crisis World, W. W. Norton, NY., 2016, 466 pgs., index, bibliography, notes

 
 

Reviewer comment - This is a very important book that should be studied by everyone interested in the current world. The writing is excellent in style - easy reading. But it is so full of detail on every page that one cannot remember it all. The author develops his conclusions based on personal visits and has been practically everywhere are met with practically everyone, leaders of governments, bankers, investors, economists and more. There are so many valuable insights that leaders should act upon that one cannot summarize them all in a brief review. Mr. Sharma has assembled a massive data base containing information over many year's duration about all sorts of factors he has found relevant or not. The book is about investments and finance, but not about individual companies nor industries, but about what it takes for a whole country to expand its economy and what are the failures that can be observed in those that do not succeed. The author has developed ten 'tests' questions about the situation in a country that are likely to determine this outcome. There is unavoidable redundance because many of the same countries provide examples of success or failure in relation to more than one of the ten topics.
Each chapter is devoted to description of the basis and relevance of one question to which the answer bears on success or failure to expand the economy The questions are:
Is the Talent pool growing?
Is the nation ready to back a reformer?
Is inequality threatening growth?
Is the government meddling more or less?
Is the nation making the most of its location?
Is investment rising or falling as a share of the economy?-
Is inflation high or low?
Does the country feel cheap or expensive?
Is debt growing faster or slower than the economy?
How is the country portrayed by global opinion makers?

 
 

Prologue - Into the Wild

 
 

Introduction - Impermanence

 
 

Chapter 1 - People Mater - Is the Talent pool growing?

 
 

Chapter 2 - The Circle of Life - Is the nation ready to back a reformer?

 
 

Chapter 3 - Good Billionaires, Bad Billionaires -Is inequality threatening growth?

 
 

Chapter 4 - Perils of the State -Is the government meddling more or less?

 
 

Chapter 5 - The Geographic Sweet Spot - Is the nation making the most of its location?

 
 

Chapter 6 - Factories First - Is investment rising or falling as a share of the economy?

 
 

Chapter 7 - The Price of Onions -Is inflation high or low?

 
 

Chapter 8 - Cheap Is Good -Does the country feel cheap or expensive?

 
 

Chapter 9 - The Kiss of Debt -Is debt growing faster or slower than the economy?

 
 

Chapter 10 - The Hype Watch -How is the country portrayed by global opinion makers?

 
 

Chapter 11 - The Good, the Average, and the Ugly -

 

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