What does the world do with all its young people?
Demographic discussions nowadays tend to concentrate on the aging of the population in so many places, and that’s going on. But at the same time, many places in the world have a growing population of people between the ages of 15 and 24. The chart above is from the United Nations Department of Economic and [...]
World’s cars per capita declining
I’ve been doing a lot of demographic research recently, on markets emerging and otherwise, and I found something that completely surprised me: the number of cars per capita in the world has declined. I was sure it would have gone up, which shows why you have to go to the facts rather than trying to [...]
China, India, and Problems with Gender Imbalances
Today’s New York Times had a story about how women in Williston, ND are feeling harassed. It’s one of the North Dakota communities that has seen a huge influx of men because of the growth of the energy industry. And, the women are feeling threatened. In India, a young woman died after a gang rape, [...]
Some Thoughts on India and Demographics
Demographics are the closest thing out there to a reliable fortune teller. A nation’s destiny is foretold in its people; the makeup of the population determines what work will be done, what goods will be in demand, and which politicians will take power. Changing demographics are driving growth in India and China, but they are [...]
Infrastructure Spending, in China and Elsewhere
China has been spending enormous amounts of money on infrastructure. The US should be spending more money in infrastructure. Brazil is embarking on an infrastructure program in advance of the 2016 Olympics. Is this good, bad, or ugly? For the most part, infrastructure is good. We need roads to get around, railroads and shipyards to [...]
China, Japan, and the Communist Party Central Committee
China is in an interesting state right now. There were protests over the weekend, some violent, against the Japanese and against the Americans for not taking a firmer stand against the Japanese. Even Chengdu had protests, and that’s not a city known for being feisty. The peppers in the food make the women beautiful, I [...]
A Wrap-Up of My China Trip
I’m back in the states! Here are my general observations on this past summer: Noodles. I love noodles. I am looking for noodle recipes and probably making a trip soon to Chinatown for supplies. Chengdu is known for food, and even a vegetarian can eat well (assuming, of course, that she likes noodles and spice!) [...]
Holidays Galore
I’m passing on this handy calendar of religious holidays, ReligiousHolidaysFY20122014, prepared by the University of Illinois at Chicago, which has astonishing diversity. What I like is the breakout of which holidays come with restrictions from work and which do not, which limits the number of excuses students can use. One of the amazing things about [...]
Questioning Conventional Wisdom on China and Entrepreneurism
While I am in Chengdu, I am trying to talk to anyone I can who is part of this new economy here. One person I talked to asked me what my article was going to be about, and I told him that I didn’t know because I hadn’t talked to enough people yet. But this [...]
