On Feeling Prosperous

It was with considerable interest that I read the findings of the 2001 Legatum Prosperity Index.  According to them two Scandinavian countries, Norway and Denmark rank first and second, followed by two from the Antipodes; Australia and New Zealand in that order.

Given the $NZ16 billion debt that New Zealand has and the significant infrastructural damage it has sustained from a series of earthquakes I find this analysis quite remarkable.

Singapore by comparison ranks only 16th in their index.  So I used their preposterously named 'prosperiscope' to compare the two countries - NZ and Singapore -  and see where they believed the difference lay?

Here are the results with New Zealand in black and Singapore in brown.

The prosperity ranking is based on 8 different criteria:

1. Economy - measures  countries’ performances in four areas that are essential to promoting prosperity: macroeconomic policies, economic satisfaction and expectations, foundation for growth, and financial sector efficiency
2. Entrepreneurship and Opportunity - measures countries’ performances in three areas: entrepreneurial environment, innovative activity, and access to opportunity. 
3. Governance - measures countries’ performances in three areas: effective and accountable government, fair elections and political participation, and rule of law
4. Education - countries’ performances in three areas: access to education, quality of education, and human capital. 
5. Health  - measures countries’ performances in three areas: basic health outcomes, health infrastructure and preventative care, and physical and mental health satisfaction
6. Safety and Security  - measures countries’ performances in two areas: national security and personal safety. Sub-Index Score. Own Calculations. Data are from 2011
7. Personal Freedom  - measures countries’ performances in two areas: individual freedom and social tolerance. 
8. Social Capital  - measures countries’ performances in two areas: social cohesion and engagement, as well as community and family networks

As might be expected Singapore is well ahead of the average in terms of the economy

Both countries are level pegging at the global average when it comes to Entrepreneurship and Opportunity.

However according to the Legatum Institute which is an independent non-partisan public policy group based in London, Singapore's ranking fall well short in four areas: Governance, Education, Personal Freedom and Social Capital.

I have no doubt that the Singapore government would take issue with this analysis and the criteria used.  I too find it hard to believe in the gap between Singapore and New Zealand in the area of Education and the 'social cohesion' rating for NZ seems highly over stated and therefore over rated.

The video below explains how the Legatum Institute  arrived at their Prosperity Index.

Video source: The Legatum Institute

Death in the Key of D

Mozart

Today is a rare respite to the recent winter dampness and I am sitting at the keyboard with Mozart's Symphony No. 5: Allegro con brio playing in the background. Now there was a guy who knew how to turn out a tune or two.

The l'enfant terrible would have had a hard time in Singapore with his non-conformist attitude and all-consuming focus on his own being.

Somehow I can't see him playing a leading role in any national courtesy campaign either.

A touch of Mozart is also a reassurance that not all the world is balmy, countering today's revelation that an organic farmer from Norway has killed 80 people with a bomb in parliament and a later shooting rampage at a youth camp. A diet of organic vegetables no doubt contributing to his insanity.

I doubt if we will ever know what drove Anders Behring Breivik to commit this act but it does remind one that even in a supposedly peaceful society such atrocities can occur.

No wonder Singapore keeps reminding its citizens that it too is an iconic target for acts of terror.  In the past fortnight 11 suspects have been arrested in Indonesia as they planned to attack the Singapore embassy in Jakarta.

As to Mozart,he could have avoided a premature death if he had spent more time basking in the sun and thereby absorbing Vitamin D, recent research suggests.

"Mozart did much of his composing at night, so would have slept during much of the day. At the latitude of Vienna, 48 degrees N, it is impossible to make vitamin D from solar ultraviolet-B irradiance for about 6 months of the year," the authors write. "Mozart died on December 5, 1791, two to three months into the vitamin D winter."

Given the amount of sun in Singapore perhaps he should have relocated to the island republic. At the very least he should not have come to Auckland in the middle of a New Zealand winter.

Related articles

• Mozart Probably Died Young From Not Getting Enough Sun (businessinsider.com)
• Norwegian media name bombing, shooting suspect (cbsnews.com)