(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Norway’s mix of capitalism and socialism produces the world’s best economy. The US advance continues [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-08-28 The Independent Australia ranking on economic management (IAREM) for 2023 shows Norway leading the world. The USA continues its steady climb up the global ladder after the disastrous Trump era. Norway is unique among major developed economies having decided to keep profits from its energy exports in the country. The great wealth now generated from Norway’s North Sea oil and gas rigs goes into a sovereign wealth fund instead of being sent offshore via multinational corporations. Consequently, the nation’s assets vastly outweigh its public debt. This is one factor underpinning Norway’s rise to the top of this year’s IAREM – the Independent Australia ranking on economic management. Global recovery falters This year’s rankings largely reflect how governments have handled the recovery from the Covid recession and, particularly, managed rampant inflation. These are difficult times. Of the 38 rich OECD members, only seven have avoided a negative quarter of growth in gross domestic product (GDP) since the start of 2022. They are Australia, Belgium, Canada, Mexico, Slovakia, Spain and Switzerland. Results for 2023 confirm that nations which balance corporate freedom with sensible government oversight generate the best outcomes. These are mostly low population nations with a culture of ingenuity and enterprise. World’s top ten economies In order, the best-performed economies in 2023, with IAREM scores achieved, were: 1. Norway 39.96 2. United Arab Emirates 39.88 3. Singapore 35.60 4. Switzerland 35.02 5. Denmark 30.00 6. Iceland 29.60 7. Luxembourg 29.29 8. Ireland 28.60 9. Cyprus 26.95 10. Israel 26.56 The next ten, in order, were South Korea, Hong Kong, Australia, Netherlands, Canada, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United States, Iraq and Panama. The IAREM score The Independent Australia ranking on economic management is a composite index which measures all the world’s economies on eight indicators. These are national income per person, GDP growth, median wealth per adult, jobs, inflation, tax levels, government net debt and economic freedom. This transparent formula can easily be replicated with basic spreadsheet software: IAREM = ip + gr + mw + j – in – t – gd + ef Data comes from publicly accessible tables published by the World Bank, Credit Suisse, Heritage Foundation, the International Monetary Fund and tradingeconomics.com. This is the world’s only index of overall economic performance based on multiple variables. Nordic ascendancy Norway’s jobless rate has been among the lowest for decades now, falling to 3.1% in several months recently, close to the all-time low. Inflation increased in 2021 along with rest of the world, but peaked at a relatively benign 7.5% in October last year. That beats Sweden, Belgium, Poland, Chile, Latvia and the Netherlands which all copped inflation highs last year above 12%. According to Credit Suisse’s annual global wealth report, Norway’s average wealth per person was US$385,338 in 2022. That ranks eighth in the world, behind Australia, Denmark, Iceland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Switzerland and the USA. Just three years ago, pre-Covid, the mean wealth of Norwegians was just US$280,227, which ranked a modest 16th. Other winners in the 2023 rankings The USA demonstrated its continuing recovery from the disastrous Trump era by jumping from 41st to 18th, mainly on low inflation, strong GDP growth and controlled borrowings. This is the highest IAREM ranking since reaching tenth in 2014 and then 17th in 2015 under President Obama. Canada also surged from 39th to 15th. European countries to impress include Iceland, up from 14th to sixth, Cyprus up from 44th to ninth and Spain up from 57th to 36th. Asia Pacific winners included Hong Kong up from 48th to 12th, New Zealand up from 29th and 22nd and Thailand up from 45th to 25th. The big losers of 2023 Economies tumbling down the IAREM rankings over the last year include several surprises, mostly resulting from persistent inflation and negative growth. Ireland fell from third to eighth, Taiwan from sixth to 23rd, Germany from 17th to 32nd and China from 28th to 52nd. These confirm the old Norwegian saying – Lykke gir aldri, det bare låner ut – Good fortune is loaned, not owned. * This is an abbreviated version of an article published today in Independent Australia. The original article is available here in full for free: https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/iarem-2023-norways-mixed-economy-leads-as-australia-plays-catch-up,17846 * [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/28/2190096/-Norway-s-mix-of-capitalism-and-socialism-produces-the-world-s-best-economy-The-US-advance-continues Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/