Economic Perspectives
- Australia may struggle in the upcoming Football (Soccer) World Cup in Brazil, but a new study finds that it has already come out on top of the competition for best performing economy in the world.
- CommSec has used economic criteria, rather than football skills to decide the winners of World Cup matches, following the same draw that will be followed over the next month.
How was the Economic World Cup determined?
- CommSec used economic criteria to decide the winners of matches, starting at the group stage and finishing with the final match. The criteria used was as follows:
- Group Stage: Economic growth
- Round of 16: Government net lending/borrowing (proxy for Budget deficit/surplus)
- Quarter finals: Gross National Saving
- Semi-finals: Gross Government Debt
- Final: Inflation
All the data were sourced from the International Monetary Fund World Economic Database for April 2014. All data readings were the 2014 estimates/forecasts, so that countries could be assessed on current form or performances.
Indicators chosen were those most relevant to economic performance and where data was available for all teams competing in the World Cup.
Economic growth was the first indicator used to compare countries as it was regarded as most representative of economic performance.
Click here to read the Economic World Cup