The United States is in second position, followed by Sweden,
Taiwan, Denmark and Norway, consecutively. Japan did not
make the top 5.
Japan's fall in rank does not surprise me. One of their biggest problems is an aging population. The other problems have been ably described by Alex Kerr in various books and articles.
The reason of their success, PLAIN AND SIMPLE: The Nordic
countries are all running budget surpluses.
Do you mean national budgets? I don't suppose a country can run a national budget surplus indefinitely. After the national debt is reduced to zero, they would be burning money, wouldn't they?
Some people have suggested that countries should run a trade surplus to be healthy. Obviously they cannot all do that. Net imports and exports worldwide must total to zero unless we trade with Mars.
Economics give me a headache, I must confess. I hope that in the distant future the whole business evaporates, nobody does any labor, and everyone makes all the goods they want with their own personal omni-converters and replicators. (See "Profiles of the Future.")
- Jed
