Chasing the Dragon

[VCheng]

Another interesting chart:

from: Comparing India and China: Chasing the dragon | The Economist

Comparing India and China
Chasing the dragon

Oct 3rd 2011, 15:26 by The Economist online

How the Asian superpowers compare on various measures of development

In the recent Singapore Grand Prix, a car belonging to the Force India team reached the finish line just 111 seconds after the leader. Today’s chart uses a stopwatch to compare India’s progress in development against another pace-setter, China. The chart shows the number of years that have elapsed since China passed the development milestones that India has now reached. India’s income per head, for example, was about $3,200 in 2009 (holding purchasing power constant across time and between countries). China reached that level of development nine years ago. The lag in social progress is much longer. A child’s odds of surviving past their fifth birthday are as bad in India today as they were in China in the 1970s. Moreover, the chart does not necessarily imply that India in nine years’ time will be as rich as China is today. That is because China grew faster in the last nine years than India is likely to grow over the next nine. We stopped the clock at $3200 per head. But China did not stop racing ahead.

View attachment 9029

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

To talk of "how many years behind" in terms of social indicators or average income, is not perhaps quite accurate in my opinion.

Here is how the ratio of Chinese GDP to Indian GDP changed since 1990:

1990 - Chinese GDP : Indian GDP - 1 : 1
2000 - Chinese GDP : Indian GDP - 2 : 1
2010 - Chinese GDP : Indian GDP - 4 : 1

List of countries by past and future GDP (nominal) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In fact the gap is increasing constantly, which makes sense considering the fact that China has averaged much higher growth rates than India has, with a larger base economy. In order to catch up, India is going to have to significantly bypass China's growth rate, since their base economic size is much smaller.

As for the social indicators, India's leading economist Amyarta Sen has written a lot about this, that I think many members will have already posted it on this forum. India has certainly fallen behind on social indicators relative to their GDP growth, though Amyarta Sen goes into much more detail about it.

 

[Jackdaws]

Calling them Asia's superpowers is ridiculous. Behemoths - sure. Superpowers? That's pushing it.

India will never clock the growth rate of China, this is due to political realities. As Indians we must accept it and move on.

Moreover, China for all its fine achievements has treaded on grounds few economies have. What is China's internal debt? % of bad loans? The Chinese financial system is not as transparent?

But let's not kid ourselves - as an Indian I am pretty sure India is at least 15-20 years behind China on economic factors and at least 10 in social factors.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

But let's not kid ourselves - as an Indian I am pretty sure India is at least 15-20 years behind China on economic factors and at least 10 in social factors.

Opposite way round actually, if you read the Economist article in the OP:

The lag in social progress is much longer. A child’s odds of surviving past their fifth birthday are as bad in India today as they were in China in the 1970s.

India's leading Economist Amyarta Sen said exactly the same thing here, but in much more detail:

Quality of Life: India vs. China by Amartya Sen | The New York Review of Books

Some statistics about China and India, drawn mainly from the World Bank and the United Nations, are relevant here. Life expectancy at birth in China is 73.5 years; in India it is 64.4 years. The infant mortality rate is fifty per thousand in India, compared with just seventeen in China; the mortality rate for children under five is sixty-six per thousand for Indians and nineteen for the Chinese; and the maternal mortality rate is 230 per 100,000 live births in India and thirty-eight in China. The mean years of schooling in India were estimated to be 4.4 years, compared with 7.5 years in China. China’s adult literacy rate is 94 percent, compared with India’s 74 percent according to the preliminary tables of the 2011 census.

 

[RazPaK]

Another interesting chart:

from: Comparing India and China: Chasing the dragon | The Economist

Comparing India and China
Chasing the dragon

Oct 3rd 2011, 15:26 by The Economist online

How the Asian superpowers compare on various measures of development

In the recent Singapore Grand Prix, a car belonging to the Force India team reached the finish line just 111 seconds after the leader. Today’s chart uses a stopwatch to compare India’s progress in development against another pace-setter, China. The chart shows the number of years that have elapsed since China passed the development milestones that India has now reached. India’s income per head, for example, was about $3,200 in 2009 (holding purchasing power constant across time and between countries). China reached that level of development nine years ago. The lag in social progress is much longer. A child’s odds of surviving past their fifth birthday are as bad in India today as they were in China in the 1970s. Moreover, the chart does not necessarily imply that India in nine years’ time will be as rich as China is today. That is because China grew faster in the last nine years than India is likely to grow over the next nine. We stopped the clock at $3200 per head. But China did not stop racing ahead.

View attachment 9029

Lmao, why don't you compare USA and China. Instead of chasing you are being lead by a leash.

 

[raavan]

the country which has more entrepreneurs will eventually come out on top. yeah china has more labourers than india but when it comes to creativity both countries pretty much suck . this is also why i believe america's status as a superpower is secure for as long as i ll live

 

[NeutralCitizen]

this isn't my comment however This explains the situation very well. ''Deng Xiaoping opened up China in the early 1980's. You also need to consider what the 30 years of mismanagement under Mao did to the country. China had about a 10 year head start but began it from a arguably worse base.''

 

[Jackdaws]

this isn't my comment however This explains the situation very well. ''Deng Xiaoping opened up China in the early 1980's. You also need to consider what the 30 years of mismanagement under Mao did to the country. China had about a 10 year head start but began it from a arguably worse base.''

The competition between India and China is not militaristic or even ideological in nature - so comparing it to USA / USSR is perhaps not right. For example the Americans hated communism with a vengeance and banned commies in USA - India routinely elects communist parties into power. Perhaps a Chinese can clarify but from what I understand, China mistrusts the West's economic model of capitalism but does not begrudge it democracy.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

Perhaps a Chinese can clarify but from what I understand, China mistrusts the West's economic model of capitalism but does not begrudge it democracy.

The name of the system doesn't matter, as long as it works.

There are plenty of Democracies that I admire (Switzerland and Canada), and there are plenty of Capitalistic societies that I admire (like Singapore and Taiwan).

If it gets the job done, I couldn't care less about the political label.

 

[gambit]

The competition between India and China is not militaristic or even ideological in nature - so comparing it to USA / USSR is perhaps not right. For example the Americans hated communism with a vengeance and banned commies in USA - India routinely elects communist parties into power. Perhaps a Chinese can clarify but from what I understand, China mistrusts the West's economic model of capitalism but does not begrudge it democracy.

We did...???

http://www.cpusa.org/communist-party-convention-opens-in-new-york/

NEW YORK - Just blocks north of Wall Street here, the site of the biggest crime spree in history, Communist Party Chairman Sam Webb said executives who planned, aided and abetted the theft of wealth and sent the economy into a tailspin deserve to "be in prison." Webb opened the 29th Convention of the Communist Party USA, May 21.

News to me...

 

[NeutralCitizen]

The competition between India and China is not militaristic or even ideological in nature - so comparing it to USA / USSR is perhaps not right. For example the Americans hated communism with a vengeance and banned commies in USA - India routinely elects communist parties into power. Perhaps a Chinese can clarify but from what I understand, China mistrusts the West's economic model of capitalism but does not begrudge it democracy.

However the CCP of china sees what happen to Russia when Democracy came, China will turn into a democracy however not like russia in 500 days. My own Opinion CCP will be in power for another 30-40 years when most of China internal issues are solved.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

However the CCP of china sees what happen to Russia when Democracy came, China will turn into a democracy however not like russia in 500 days. My own Opinion CCP will be in power for another 30-40 years when most of China internal issues are solved.

That seems like a fairly accurate estimate to me.

 

[JustForFun]

the country which has more entrepreneurs will eventually come out on top. yeah china has more labourers than india but when it comes to creativity both countries pretty much suck . this is also why i believe america's status as a superpower is secure for as long as i ll live

I don't know which country has more entrepeneurs. If you take a look at the Chinese and Indian diaspora you will see that the Chinese generaly have more economic cloud and the Indian more political cloud.

 

[Jackdaws]

We did...???

Communist Party convention opens in New York » cpusa

News to me...

Haha - yes, America did but this was many years ago in the age of Sputnik and the height of the cold war. Look up the Communist witch hunt, Senator McCarthy and House Committee on unAmerican Activities.

 

[NeutralCitizen]

Haha - yes, America did but this was many years ago in the age of Sputnik and the height of the cold war. Look up the Communist witch hunt, Senator McCarthy and House Committee on unAmerican Activities.

Some of the good things about Communism I liked , free health care everyone got their needs, however Pure communism will never be attained.