Eastern vs. Western Averages

Here’s a chart from The Economist worth a second look. While it does appear that slowly and steadily we seem to be in an era of transfer of wealth from the west to the east, the problem of India and China is that of distribution. Is this growing wealth helping lift people out of poverty. The question to be asked is that if this increase in GDP be distributed across all citizens of India and China equally, what % of their respective population would get lifted out from poverty?

 And here’s an interesting addendum to this chart:

S&P Sovereign (FCY) Ratings:

Britian: AAA                    United States: AA+                      France: AA+                                Germany: AAA

Russia: BBB                       Brazil: BBB                                        India: BBB-                                   China: AA-