Comments on: Last 2,000 years of growth in world income and population (REVISED) http://visualizingeconomics.com/2007/11/21/last-2000-of-growth-in-world-income-and-population-revised/ Thu, 17 May 2012 22:40:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: R. Scott LaMorte http://visualizingeconomics.com/2007/11/21/last-2000-of-growth-in-world-income-and-population-revised/comment-page-1/#comment-1398 R. Scott LaMorte Wed, 19 Oct 2011 08:07:00 +0000 http://www.visualizingeconomics.com/2007/11/21/last-2000-of-growth-in-world-income-and-population-revised/#comment-1398 I don't think the average GDP per capita is nearly as interesting as the median income. Average income growth doesn't really mean the average person's wealth grew as shown on this chart, so this chart is fairly misleading.  Consider the story about six middle class people in a bar. Suddenly Bill Gates walks in and on average they all become billionaires. While the average GDP per capita for the world is a modest sounding $6000-$7000, the median income, that of the person exactly half-way up the income ladder, is a more miserly $650 per year.   I don’t think the average GDP per capita is nearly as interesting as the median income. Average income growth doesn’t really mean the average person’s wealth grew as shown on this chart, so this chart is fairly misleading. 

Consider the story about six middle class people in a bar. Suddenly Bill Gates walks in and on average they all become billionaires.

While the average GDP per capita for the world is a modest sounding $6000-$7000, the median income, that of the person exactly half-way up the income ladder, is a more miserly $650 per year.  

]]> By: boo http://visualizingeconomics.com/2007/11/21/last-2000-of-growth-in-world-income-and-population-revised/comment-page-1/#comment-294 boo Sun, 15 Mar 2009 17:13:55 +0000 http://www.visualizingeconomics.com/2007/11/21/last-2000-of-growth-in-world-income-and-population-revised/#comment-294 just tell me wat the f***king population growth is!! just tell me wat the f***king population growth is!!

]]> By: Stephen Hicks, Ph.D. » Worth Reading for August 2008 http://visualizingeconomics.com/2007/11/21/last-2000-of-growth-in-world-income-and-population-revised/comment-page-1/#comment-293 Stephen Hicks, Ph.D. » Worth Reading for August 2008 Sun, 15 Feb 2009 10:31:41 +0000 http://www.visualizingeconomics.com/2007/11/21/last-2000-of-growth-in-world-income-and-population-revised/#comment-293 [...] A fine research-resources site: Historical Statistics. And an excellent chart graphing economic growth in the last 2,000 years. (Thanks to Anja for the [...] [...] A fine research-resources site: Historical Statistics. And an excellent chart graphing economic growth in the last 2,000 years. (Thanks to Anja for the [...]

]]> By: Galt http://visualizingeconomics.com/2007/11/21/last-2000-of-growth-in-world-income-and-population-revised/comment-page-1/#comment-292 Galt Tue, 30 Dec 2008 07:57:01 +0000 http://www.visualizingeconomics.com/2007/11/21/last-2000-of-growth-in-world-income-and-population-revised/#comment-292 Check your premises on who the "poor" are and why they are poor. There is obviously money being produced by somebody, as is apparent by the fact that we are all communicating from various locations through computer technology. I am not able to do this because somebody handed me the computer for free. I had to work (produce) the means to trade for it. No form of control or regulation from external sources can make the "poor" unpoor. ALL living creatures must work for and produce their own survival, otherwise nobody produces survival. The argument would simply be that because some people choose to produce the means of their own survival--to the extent that we see in more economically free societies--that they must give up those means to those who have not produced and if they will not give it up "willingly" then they must give it up at the point of a gun. Refute it, I dare you. Check your premises on who the “poor” are and why they are poor. There is obviously money being produced by somebody, as is apparent by the fact that we are all communicating from various locations through computer technology. I am not able to do this because somebody handed me the computer for free. I had to work (produce) the means to trade for it. No form of control or regulation from external sources can make the “poor” unpoor. ALL living creatures must work for and produce their own survival, otherwise nobody produces survival. The argument would simply be that because some people choose to produce the means of their own survival–to the extent that we see in more economically free societies–that they must give up those means to those who have not produced and if they will not give it up “willingly” then they must give it up at the point of a gun. Refute it, I dare you.

]]> By: Siddhartha http://visualizingeconomics.com/2007/11/21/last-2000-of-growth-in-world-income-and-population-revised/comment-page-1/#comment-291 Siddhartha Sun, 06 Jul 2008 03:22:09 +0000 http://www.visualizingeconomics.com/2007/11/21/last-2000-of-growth-in-world-income-and-population-revised/#comment-291 To Daniel: This shows no evidence for disproving that the poor are getting poorer. Averages can always be driven up by extreme cases. Like Swartz asked for, you need median income, or quartiles to be able to judge distribution. Very interesting graph. Look at the jump around 1800. And around 1500 when the New World was discovered. To Daniel: This shows no evidence for disproving that the poor are getting poorer. Averages can always be driven up by extreme cases. Like Swartz asked for, you need median income, or quartiles to be able to judge distribution.

Very interesting graph. Look at the jump around 1800. And around 1500 when the New World was discovered.

]]> By: Sam http://visualizingeconomics.com/2007/11/21/last-2000-of-growth-in-world-income-and-population-revised/comment-page-1/#comment-290 Sam Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:01:30 +0000 http://www.visualizingeconomics.com/2007/11/21/last-2000-of-growth-in-world-income-and-population-revised/#comment-290 Also I have a message to all people visiting this very URL: Your really cool Also I have a message to all people visiting this very URL:

Your really cool

]]> By: Fred Swartz http://visualizingeconomics.com/2007/11/21/last-2000-of-growth-in-world-income-and-population-revised/comment-page-1/#comment-289 Fred Swartz Sun, 27 Jan 2008 10:11:45 +0000 http://www.visualizingeconomics.com/2007/11/21/last-2000-of-growth-in-world-income-and-population-revised/#comment-289 Very interesting -- thanks for the graph. How the GDP is distributed in the population would be interesting, eg, the median income. Very interesting — thanks for the graph. How the GDP is distributed in the population would be interesting, eg, the median income.

]]> By: daniel http://visualizingeconomics.com/2007/11/21/last-2000-of-growth-in-world-income-and-population-revised/comment-page-1/#comment-288 daniel Thu, 20 Dec 2007 08:52:21 +0000 http://www.visualizingeconomics.com/2007/11/21/last-2000-of-growth-in-world-income-and-population-revised/#comment-288 This makes it very easy to see how incomes have been soaring over the last 300 years or so, and shows as so much bunk all the gainsayers' comments about the poor getting poorer. This makes it very easy to see how incomes have been soaring over the last 300 years or so, and shows as so much bunk all the gainsayers’ comments about the poor getting poorer.

]]>