From: han@anadolu.michigan.com (hasan.b.mutlu)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.turkish,talk.politics.mideast,talk.politics.soviet,soc.culture.soviet,soc.culture.greek,soc.culture.europe
Subject: 'Obstfeld' Of Berkeley Would Be Happy To Hear Your Joke, 'Radu.'
Date: 8 Apr 92 00:13:00 GMT


<rrensINN8po@agate.berkeley.edu>
160955r@garnet.berkeley.edu ()

>>Source: 'United Nations, Human Development Report,' 1990.
>>
>>Annual Output Per Person in Dollars Adjusted to Purchasing Power
>>Parity: Turkiye, Greece and Chile are in the same category. That
>>is, $3,000 - $5,999. 
>>
>>Source: 'International Economics: Theory and Policy' by Paul R.
>>        Krugman and Maurice Obstfeld, Harper Collins Publishers,
>>        1991, (second edition).
>>
>>In terms of 'Annual Output Per Person in Dollars Adjusted to 
>>Purchasing Power Parity,' Greece is in the same category with 
>>Turkiye.

>Hasan, the purchasing power parity comparisons are at best lucky estimates. 

You must surely be confusing 'the law of one price' with 'purchasing 
power parity (PPP).' There is a difference between PPP and the law
of one price; the law of one price applies to individual commodities,
while PPP applies to the general price level, which is a composite
of the prices of all commodities that enter into the reference basket.
I hate to disappoint you but PPP is the best estimator.

>No 
>serious economist believes in such comparisons unless they happen to bolster
>his point 8 -). 

What a joke. Are you claiming that David Ricardo (the originator of
the theory of comparative advantage), Gustav Cassel and Krugman are
worthless economists? I am sure 'Maurice Obstfeld' of Berkeley
would be happy to hear your joke.

>Turkey and Greece are located close to each other; their climate, natural 
>endowment, etc. are pretty similar. In circumstances like these , a better 
>estimator is the GNP/capita, which is $1630.00 for Turkyie (lowest in
>Europe, since there is no data for Albania) and $6000.00 for Greece (Bilan
>Economique et Social 1991-Secousses- Le Monde ). 

Again, you are confusing 'the law of one price' with 'purchasing 
power parity (PPP).' Proponents of the PPP theory argue that its
validity (in particular, its validity as a long-run theory) does
not require the law of one price to hold exactly. Thus, in terms 
of 'Annual Output Per Person in Dollars Adjusted to Purchasing Power 
Parity,' Greece is in the same category with Turkiye (see above scholarly 
reference).

>Moreover: if the living stan-
>dards were indeed comparable, as you seem to suggest, then the life 
>expectancies should be comparable as well. Truth of the matter is that 
>the average Greek lives 77 years while the average Turk only 67 
>(same source) - again, the worst record in Europe. 

What does this have anything to do with the PPP? Wish to hear Turkiye's
competitiveness in ceramics and petrochemicals?

>The trained eye will soon uncover that economic Turkish
>economic data place it in the same league with neighboring, Arab, non-oil
>producing countries, and make economic comparisons with Greece unwarranted.

I still fail to see how you can challenge 'Krugman' and 'Obstfeld.'

>Department of Economics

Actually, it was quite clear!

Hasan B-) Mutlu

                     'Kill Turks and Kurds wherever you find them 
                      and in whatever circumstances you find them. 
                      Turkish children also should be killed as 
                      they form a danger to the Armenian nation.' 
                                     (Hamparsum Boyadjian - 1914)


Xref: sparky soc.culture.turkish:3977 talk.politics.mideast:10320 talk.politics.soviet:3243 soc.culture.soviet:2892 soc.culture.greek:3141 soc.culture.europe:3527 soc.history:3463