Brexit and the waning days of the United Kingdom

[OttoVonBismarck]

I think the Census Bureau is doing really weird calculations there and maybe basing it on survey response estimates or something strange. Mississippi's GDP per capita is like 50% more than that by like every other resource I've seen.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2016/03/07/still-true-even-mississippi-is-richer-than-britain/#1738a444654f

The Bureau of Economic research which has some raw economic data pegs Mississippi's GDP at 114 billion on a population of 2.9m, ~$38k per capita GDP.

[OttoVonBismarck]

According to Forbes if you PPP adjust it Mississippi is actually higher per capita than not just Britain-outside London, but the entirety of the UK inclusive of London.

[OttoVonBismarck]

Ah, I see the discrepancy. The Census isn't measuring GDP per capita at all, that figure is "Per Capita Income", so they've taken actual wage surveys of people in the census and that's the resulting data, which will of course be a very different number than GDP/capita.

[ulmont]

Yes, I saw poorer and went looking for income; i agree GDP is a drastically different number.

[Maladict]

A more enlightening stat is the comparison to other EU regions:

I don't think this map accurately represents how well off people living in these regions are.

The blue region in the northeast of the Netherlands is in fact one of the lowest income provinces. It does have a rather large natural gas field, the proceeds of which the EU assigns to the provincie which is, in fact, impoverished by it.

I suspect there are more of these on the map, the Aberdeen area looks particularly suspicious.

[Richard Hakluyt]

Mississippi has an infant mortality rate of 8.8 and a life expectancy of 74.7 years. The UK has an infant mortality rate of 3.8 and a life expectancy of 80.96 years. GDP is a useful measure but is often overused when looking at people's welfare.

[Josquius]

A more enlightening stat is the comparison to other EU regions:

I don't think this map accurately represents how well off people living in these regions are.

The blue region in the northeast of the Netherlands is in fact one of the lowest income provinces. It does have a rather large natural gas field, the proceeds of which the EU assigns to the provincie which is, in fact, impoverished by it.

I suspect there are more of these on the map, the Aberdeen area looks particularly suspicious.

Yes. For sure there is a oil and gas distortion in some regions.
But other than that it broadly holds up.


It's definitely correct that london is the richest region in Europe whilst much of the country is more on a par with Eastern Europe. It is incorrect however to paint this as an inevitable mess of a situation. Active policy is to blame.

[garbon]

It's definitely correct that london is the richest region in Europe whilst much of the country is more on a par with Eastern Europe.

Oddly it doesn't show that. It shows that most of the rest of the UK is on the part with the non-capital regions of France.

It also shows that in most countries, you can see the capital region outperforming the surrounding areas.

[Tamas]

All I know that there has been only one North Englander I've spent significant time together with. He is our upstairs neighbour and his general volume offers me great insight to his habits and mannerism.

He is an absolute twat.

If he is the average up there, they are fucked.

[Maladict]

It also shows that in most countries, you can see the capital region outperforming the surrounding areas.

Berlin and Rome seem to be the only exceptions. Berlin for obvious reasons and Italy being, well, Italy.

[Syt]

Also, Germany is a lot more decentralized than many other countries with notable centers of value creation spread more throughout.

[Duque de Bragança]

It also shows that in most countries, you can see the capital region outperforming the surrounding areas.

Berlin and Rome seem to be the only exceptions. Berlin for obvious reasons and Italy being, well, Italy.

Or Milan being the economic capital of Italy.  Venetia does very well too.
Rome, even the Latium thanks to Rome, is still way ahead of the South, which sometimes includes Rome.

[Richard Hakluyt]

Also, Germany is a lot more decentralized than many other countries with notable centers of value creation spread more throughout.

Interesting that the old Holy Roman Empire is now the economic powerhouse of Europe while the old highly-centralised states, that used to bully the HRE, lag behind 

[OttoVonBismarck]

Mississippi has an infant mortality rate of 8.8 and a life expectancy of 74.7 years. The UK has an infant mortality rate of 3.8 and a life expectancy of 80.96 years. GDP is a useful measure but is often overused when looking at people's welfare.

I wasn't talking about welfare though, I was talking about wealth--they're very different things. The U.S. political system, and by extension its people, appear to care much more about wealth creation than "general welfare."

[Richard Hakluyt]

Mississippi has an infant mortality rate of 8.8 and a life expectancy of 74.7 years. The UK has an infant mortality rate of 3.8 and a life expectancy of 80.96 years. GDP is a useful measure but is often overused when looking at people's welfare.

I wasn't talking about welfare though, I was talking about wealth--they're very different things. The U.S. political system, and by extension its people, appear to care much more about wealth creation than "general welfare."

Yes, the USA has also had a single market for far longer than the European countries. I do wonder, as Europeans become more footloose within the EU, whether support for social democracy will decline and inequality increase as GDP becomes a more important measurement than general welfare.