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Suggested by
Deanna Metz
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"Germany and France spent decades at each others' throats. Now, bound by a common currency, they're working together to save the euro zone. It's a story that's begging for a musical number — which, as it happens, we have right here."
NP: Four years ago, Channel One News, the weekday news program for middle and high school kids featured a dynamic area cartogram as a way of making the point that some states have much more electoral weight than others. In that broadcast, the map of the United States, featuring the familiar red and blue states indicating presidential election results, became animated. States with smaller populations squeezed into tiny shapes, while states with large populations expanded. At the time, we didn't know this kind of map was called an area cartogram; we called it a "squishy map." It does a nice job of making this case: some states matter more than others when it comes to US presidential elections. Seeing the map on Channel One also launched me into work that continues with my dissertation. What kind of sense do kids make from complex representations like an area cartogram? In the Channel One broadcast in 2008, the map was presented as part of a sensible lesson about "electoral weight." With Vanderbilt professors Rogers Hall and Kevin Leander, we wondered if the map made sense to kids and if the argument was strengthened by the map. Four years later, I'm still working on those questions and others like them. In the mean time, here's another awesome area cartogram. In this case, NPR's "It's All Politics" blogger Adam Cole makes an argument about the advertisement spending of superPACs and other outside groups. Which states matter to these groups? And how much do they spend per voter on these ads? The squishy maps tell the story. Cole has a great video here as well--it's whimsical and informative. Finally, another move by Cole in these maps is the scaling of elections at the level of the state by popular vote. This means that states that are more contested turn purple (half blue and half red) rather than the color of the winning candidate from the last election.
Via Nathan Phillips
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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We've seen a world map made of each country's coins before. Here's another currency map that uses images of each country's bills...And of course I'm going to enjoy this.
GeoFRED is an economic data mapping tool which displays color-coded data on the state, MSA, and county levels. For example, GeoFRED can display unemployment, labor force, and population for all U.S. counties. This is a great "GIS-lite" website with customizable map layers, scale references for a diverse set of economic data.
Distribution of US Foreign Aid over time, 1946-2005... This interactive graph is not visually intuitive and easy to interpret, but it is a wealth of information about the United States geopolitical policies throughout time in addition to it's humanitarian aid throughout the developing world. For example, you can see that the aid to Vietnam from 1965-1973 exploded, and to Israel from 1976-2002. In 1947, the United Kingdom (under the Marshall Plan) accounted for over half of all of the international aid.
More than 50 percent of ZIP Codes in the United States have an above average percentage of households living at or below the poverty line. What are the spatial factors that lead to a concentration of wealth in particular places? What economic, political and cultural factors play a role in the process of places amassing more wealth or of creating persistant poverty?
Via Nicholas Goubert
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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The plan to save Europe's economies calls for troubled countries to rein in government spending. But economists say austerity by itself won't be enough; there must also be a plan for growth. Fiscal austerity has now become part of the crisis rather than a solution to it. -Simon Tilford
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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Many site outsourcing as a way in which global corporatations are seeking to avoid the typical economic limitations that have been imposed on job production based on geography. Some refer to it as a 'spatial fix,' a way to get around the high cost of workers in the developed world being reworking how business gets done. This takes that to an entirely different level. The benefits of agglomeration and collaboration help to explain the importance of Silicon Valley. Entrepreneurs from other countries do not all have access to a comparable location with a high concentration of intellectually driven enterprises that amplify their impacts. The Blueseed Project intents to, in essence create a floating city in international waters (just off the coast of California) that is outside of U.S. governmental jurisdiction, but easily accessible for Silicon Valley executives. More questions than answers arise from this project. How are economic restructurings altering governance? Are borders becoming less or more important with increased technological advances? Would this be a benefit to developing world economies or strengthen the Silicon Valley's economic importance in research and development?
The BBC looks at four big questions that need to be answered if the eurozone crisis is to be laid to rest. The crisis of our times...
Via Kevin Suess
The latest economic and policy developments from countries in the euro zone. This site has updates with economic statistics as well as background on the individual country's economic problems.
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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A Greek exit from the euro has become a bomb fizzling at the heart of the eurozone. What could happen if it explodes?
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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The 17-nation bloc had a jobless rate of 11.6 per cent in September, while inflation eased slightly in the last month.
Although some countries in the Eurozone have lower unemployment rates like Austria (4.4%) and Germany (5.4%), more are in the worst collective tailspin since the creation of the common currency. Spain has the worst unemplyment rate at 25.8% of the adult population out of work. It has taken a nasty cultural and political turn as resentments and frustrations are boiling over in the Eurozone. Some are derisively referring to the struggling southern European countries as P.I.G.S. (Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain).
Tags: Europe, supranationalism, currency, labor, economic.
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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New data from Zillow shows fewer homeowners underwater, but the pattern varies widely by geography. The Sunbelt (especially California and Florida) have the highest percentage of homeowners that are 'underwater' and owe more than the home is worth. Also hit hard are declining metro areas area of the rust belt. Question to ponder: Why would these places be hit the hardest?
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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"A world map used by Erik Penser Bankaktiebolag to visualize economic markets. The map contains approximately 3,000 coins and every continent is built out of its countries’ currencies. Used in various medias during 2009." If you look closely you will notice that the coins are from the region that they are cartographically representing. To see more by this artist, visit: http://www.penser.se/
A look at the countries who hold the bulk of US national debt. This is a grim infographic.
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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New York and Boston are trying to get a bigger slice of the VC pie. But a new report suggests they're going to have to work a lot harder. "The venture capital industry bounced back considerably in 2011, according a report released last week by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association. Investments totaled $28.4 billion, an increase of 22 percent over 2010 and a whopping 44 percent from 2009. They are almost back to their 2007 pre-crisis high of $30.8 billion." Where is the money coming from? Where is the money going to? How does this impact particular places?
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is working to be a force for good in the least developed parts of the world that often face political and economic instability. This is one program designed to help. For more on the UNDP's work in the Horn of Africa, visit: http://www.undp.org/hornofafrica
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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After years of seeing their bid to join the EU stalled, Turks are trying not to show too much pleasure at the doom-laden economic news emanating from Europe. However, economists warn, Europe's debt crisis could easily spill in Turkey's direction. In an ironic twist, Turkey might just be in the better financial situation by NOT being a part of the EU. Cultural and political tensions between Greece and Turkey run deep and the latest economic crisis is revealing. Listen or read the transcript by clicking on the title.
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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If supranational governance can't work in Europe, how can it possibly work for the world as a whole?
Supranationalism, with the Euro crisis has taken a hit. Will other organizations show that there is "strength in numbers" or that countries should adopt an "every man for himself" perspective?
Thousands of Greeks walked off the job on Wednesday to protest a relentless austerity drive by a government that is struggling to avert a default. To say the Greek economy is struggling is an understatement. Despite being the most educated modern Greek generation, the under 35 age bracket at 40% unemployment. Many feel that they are paying for the older generations mismanage and are bristling at austerity measures.
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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How it can halt the European debt crisis. The economic struggles of one country, in the era of globalization and supranational organizations such as the E.U., have an increasingly wider area of impact with larger ripples in the pond.
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