I believe that even quite recently (in the last year or two) China was found to be inflating its growth estimates significantly, and I have some economically minded Indian friends who claim Indian estimates are also intentionally inflated. I believe at the collapse of the Soviet Union it was found that may growth estimates were also inflated back into the Seventies at least, so I would look towards number tampering in general as being a contributing cause.
Quoting fabio guillermo rojas <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > In preparing a lecture about socialist economies, I have come across the > claim that socialist nations had decent life expectancies. How can that > be? We know that: > > (a) there have been episodes of mass starvation in the largest > socialist nations (USSR, China) > > (b) socialist nations have often engaged in destructive wars > against other nations (USSR) and against their own populations > (Cambodia) > > (c) chronic shortages of consumer goods, and in some cases, > shortage of basic food stuffs (think of wheat imports to Russia > and North Korea) > > (d) Socialist nations tend to be stressful places with mass arrests > and > the like > > I could think of a few mechanisms: socialist nations tend to invest in the > kind of infra-structurers that extend life (Education, sanitation, etc.), > a vibrant black market, or most likely - vital statistics from these > nations are hugely misleading. > > Any comments? > > Fabio >
