Big Macs, strawberry jam and the wealth of nations
Alan Heston, a pioneer in comparing economies, died on October 25th
WHEN CHINA entered the Korean war in 1950, America was keen to take the measure of its new adversary. The government asked William Hollister to estimate the size of its GDP, relative to America’s own. Economists are often accused of giving two answers to any question. Hollister gave three.
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This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “The master of comparison”
Finance & economics November 9th 2024
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- Big Macs, strawberry jam and the wealth of nations
From the November 9th 2024 edition
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