Crippling Debt and the Wealth of Nations

[Venocara]

Hi. Does anyone know how much (in either GBP or USD):

• The United States owed the United Kingdom in 1980
• Argentina owed the world in 1976, in 1983 and in 1987
• China owed the world in 1978 and in 1988
• Venezuela owed the United States in 1980
• The United States owed France in 1980
• India owed the United States in 1986
• The Soviet Union owed the world in 1980 and 1990
• The United Kingdom owed the United States in 1940 and 1943
• Nigeria owed the United States in 1985
• France owed the United Kingdom in 1939, 1940 and 1945
• Spain owed the world in 1981

And when in the 20th century did:

• The United Kingdom lend money to the United States
• East Germany cease to be an economically viable state (not 1949)
• The Soviet Union’s economic demise start
• South Korea’s economic ascent begin
• Japan’s economic miracle begin
• Ethiopia cease to be an economically stable state
• Vietnam become an economically stable country
• India’s economic ascent begin
• Romania’s economic demise begin
• North Yemen reach its economic peak
• Singapore’s economic ascent begin
• Somalia cease to be an economically stable state
• Brazil’s economic recovery begin

All helpful answers are welcome and I thank you for your time.

 

[Japhy]

Dude, cmon

 

[Venocara]

Dude, cmon

This isn't really helpful. I'm sure someone out here has knowledge of what I'm asking. It may be a lot, but the first part consists solely of the early 40s and 1980s, and the second part is definitely within the remit of someone's knowledge. If there are people who know how Switzerland would have delivered nuclear weapons in the 1980s, then someone will know the answers to my questions. Or some people.

 

[Walpurgisnacht]

Search engines are your friend here.

 

[Japhy]

This isn't really helpful. I'm sure someone out here has knowledge of what I'm asking. It may be a lot, but the first part consists solely of the early 40s and 1980s, and the second part is definitely within the remit of someone's knowledge. If there are people who know how Switzerland would have delivered nuclear weapons in the 1980s, then someone will know the answers to my questions. Or some people.

Its rude to just post some long list of questions like this for data. You can do your own research.

 

[Venocara]

Search engines are your friend here.

Its rude to just post some long list of questions like this for data. You can do your own research.

This is what comes up when you search the first one:



It's obscure enough to render Google useless.

 

[Venocara]

Its rude to just post some long list of questions like this for data. You can do your own research.

This is the second page of the question above...


Looking at it, I'm sure you'll understand why I've created this thread.

 

[SenatorChickpea]

Research doesn't stop at Google. Almost all nations have Economic History textbooks around them, to say nothing of various almanacs. Try your lcoal university library.

The questions in the second half of the post can almost all be answered through Google, though. I mean, you could get a half-decent explanation on Singapore's rise simply through looking at the wiki page for Lee Kuan Yew, for a start.

 

[Venocara]

Research doesn't stop at Google. Almost all nations have Economic History textbooks around them, to say nothing of various almanacs. Try your lcoal university library.

I will try some of them, if they'll let me in. Thank you for the suggestion, although I anticipate it will be difficult finding the information. I'll still do it.

The questions in the second half of the post can almost all be answered through Google, though.

Most of the questions that I asked cannot be answered through Google. I tried.

I mean, you could get a half-decent explanation on Singapore's rise simply through looking at the wiki page for Lee Kuan Yew, for a start.

This right here is very helpful, and I thank you for it.

 

[Japhy]

Looking at it, I'm sure you'll understand why I've created this thread.

No I don't. I'm going to legitimately ask, Do you not know how to do your own research? And would you like help on learning how to?

 

[Venocara]

No I don't. I'm going to legitimately ask, Do you not know how to do your own research? And would you like help on learning how to?

As you can see in the picture, what Google came out with is completely irrelevant to what I searched. I cannot afford to shell out hundreds of pounds to have the books that might contain the information that I need and you can't withdraw books from the big libraries (that I live miles from) that might have the information I need. So please, what is your suggestion? I'm open to any helpful ones, and I'll be grateful.

 

[SenatorChickpea]

Most of the questions that I asked cannot be answered through Google. I tried.

As you can see in the picture, what Google came out with is completely irrelevant to what I searched. I cannot afford to shell out hundreds of pounds to have the books that might contain the information that I need and you can't withdraw books from the big libraries (that I live miles from) that might have the information I need. So please, what is your suggestion? I'm open to any helpful ones, and I'll be grateful.

Ease up on the hostility. Japhy is terse, but he's right: almost all of this material is available online for free. Like he said, if you want help learning how to do your own research then by all means ask and people will be prepared to help- but we won't do the work for you.

And when in the 20th century did:

• The Soviet Union’s economic demise start
• South Korea’s economic ascent begin
• Japan’s economic miracle begin

Take these, for example: none of these are specialist questions that require specialist resources. You can get the broad strokes from the first results on google or wikipedia. If you're genuinely not sure what to look for, then that's a different matter.

But right now, this very much feels like you're asking people to do the mundane tasks of research for you instead of putting in the effort yourself.

 

[Venocara]

Ease up on the hostility. Japhy is terse, but he's right: almost all of this material is available online for free. Like he said, if you want help learning how to do your own research then by all means ask and people will be prepared to help- but we won't do the work for you.

Ok then, could you please tell me where online can I find these free resources?

Take these, for example: none of these are specialist questions that require specialist resources. You can get the broad strokes from the first results on google or wikipedia. If you're genuinely not sure what to look for, then that's a different matter.

But right now, this very much feels like you're asking people to do the mundane tasks of research for you instead of putting in the effort yourself.

That's not what I'm trying to do. I've tried to find the answers myself but I'm not finding the answers available. Especially for the first part, the questions are far too specialised for anything to come up on Google or Wikipedia, and so I've created this thread because I don't know where else to turn.

 

[SenatorChickpea]

Ok then, could you please tell me where online can I find these free resources?


That's not what I'm trying to do. I've tried to find the answers myself but I'm not finding the answers available. Especially for the first part, the questions are far too specialised for anything to come up on Google or Wikipedia, and so I've created this thread because I don't know where else to turn.

I've a busy weekend, but I'll chip in with some proper help.

Now, bear in mind that the best resources will be found at a good library. Are you American? I'm not familiar with how university libraries work there. In the UK you'll need to go to the front desk at most libraries to get a guest access card. In Australasia, you can generally wander straight in and begin browsing, though obviously you can't borrow.

That shouldn't be a problem. Most research is dull- you sit at a desk in the library with a pile of books, take notes, then put the stuff back in the reshelving area. It's not that interesting, but it works.

However, the most basic problem you seem to be having is making far too specific google searches. The algorithm will understand if you ask how old a celebrity is, but it will get confused if you ask it a question that's not answered on click bait sites and is harder to measure (national debt.)

The good news is that these problems can often be solved through the simplest of word associations. I'm not trying to be snobbish, but if we take this as an example topic:

• The Soviet Union owed the world in 1980 and 1990

• The Soviet Union’s economic demise start

You may understand why Japhy was skeptical you'd put any time in on google.

If you search "USSR debt", for example, the very first result is a google information box telling you that in 1990 the Soviets owed $66 billion in debt.
Below that you have the wiki article "Economy of the Soviet Union," a selection of news articles on Russia recently paying off the last of the inherited debt, and some more general articles on Soviet decline.

Alright, you might say, but I want something more specialist than wiki or random journalism.

So search for "ussr economic history," and suddenly Amazon recommendations begin popping up.

'But Senator,' I hear you cry, 'I am but a poor poster who can't afford to buy books from Amazon, even if I callously dismissed the plight of their workers!'

Well then, look further down the page and you'll notice that since "economic history" is an academic field, your search is turning up academic papers- like "The Rise and Decline of the Soviet Economy" by Robert Allen, Department of Economics, University of British Columbia.

If you want to do the next step in research and follow up on how Doctor Allen's work was received, get thee to scholar.google.com search for the paper there and see how many citations or reviews it has.

That site will also give you many, many specialised answers to your questions, though unless you access it through a university internet connection it is very unlikely you will be able to read most of these papers for free.

But! If there's one that looks really promising, search for that on the general google site and see if, like Allen's work, someone has just whacked the pdf up!


And all of this took much, much less time than it did to write this post.

Good luck- with a little work, you can answer every one of your questions yourself, and when you write up your 1943 timeline you will be able to correct your readers with the phrase "Oh, that? No, that's not alternate history. That actually happened, it's amazing what you find when you do the research...'(1)


(1) The EdT technique, named after one of the only authors who has ever managed to do this without giving the impression of smugly chuckling at how much they know, you pleb.

 

[Venocara]

I've a busy weekend, but I'll chip in with some proper help.

Now, bear in mind that the best resources will be found at a good library. Are you American? I'm not familiar with how university libraries work there. In the UK you'll need to go to the front desk at most libraries to get a guest access card. In Australasia, you can generally wander straight in and begin browsing, though obviously you can't borrow.

That shouldn't be a problem. Most research is dull- you sit at a desk in the library with a pile of books, take notes, then put the stuff back in the reshelving area. It's not that interesting, but it works.

However, the most basic problem you seem to be having is making far too specific google searches. The algorithm will understand if you ask how old a celebrity is, but it will get confused if you ask it a question that's not answered on click bait sites and is harder to measure (national debt.)

The good news is that these problems can often be solved through the simplest of word associations. I'm not trying to be snobbish, but if we take this as an example topic:





You may understand why Japhy was skeptical you'd put any time in on google.

If you search "USSR debt", for example, the very first result is a google information box telling you that in 1990 the Soviets owed $66 billion in debt.
Below that you have the wiki article "Economy of the Soviet Union," a selection of news articles on Russia recently paying off the last of the inherited debt, and some more general articles on Soviet decline.

Alright, you might say, but I want something more specialist than wiki or random journalism.

So search for "ussr economic history," and suddenly Amazon recommendations begin popping up.

'But Senator,' I hear you cry, 'I am but a poor poster who can't afford to buy books from Amazon, even if I callously dismissed the plight of their workers!'

Well then, look further down the page and you'll notice that since "economic history" is an academic field, your search is turning up academic papers- like "The Rise and Decline of the Soviet Economy" by Robert Allen, Department of Economics, University of British Columbia.

If you want to do the next step in research and follow up on how Doctor Allen's work was received, get thee to scholar.google.com search for the paper there and see how many citations or reviews it has.

That site will also give you many, many specialised answers to your questions, though unless you access it through a university internet connection it is very unlikely you will be able to read most of these papers for free.

But! If there's one that looks really promising, search for that on the general google site and see if, like Allen's work, someone has just whacked the pdf up!


And all of this took much, much less time than it did to write this post.

Good luck- with a little work, you can answer every one of your questions yourself, and when you write up your 1943 timeline you will be able to correct your readers with the phrase "Oh, that? No, that's not alternate history. That actually happened, it's amazing what you find when you do the research...'(1)


(1) The EdT technique, named after one of the only authors who has ever managed to do this without giving the impression of smugly chuckling at how much they know, you pleb.

Thank you for this. It’s a great help. I’ll use this to see what I can do.

P.S. I am not American nor am I Australasian.