Cumulative current account balance

December 12, 2011 8:05 AM

Could you interpret this map for me? Also is there an updated version of it?
posted by raphael19 to Society & Culture (5 answers total)

Did you look at the Wikipedia page that it's included on? What part do you still have questions about?
posted by jessamyn at 8:09 AM on December 12, 2011 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I am looking for an informal interpretation; skip if you are uninterested...
posted by raphael19 at 8:12 AM on December 12, 2011

Do you not understand what the graph is showing you in factual terms, or are you looking for expanded discussions about the broader implication of the map? I'm not sure what you mean by "informal interpretation" if you already understand the map.
posted by brainmouse at 8:21 AM on December 12, 2011 [1 favorite]

The cumulative currant account balance would be the summed, yearly trade deficits over some period. The idea is probably that a bigger deficit or surplus is a more extreme imbalance requiring (probably, but not necessarily) a currency adjustment at some point to rectify. If that is indeed the point, however, this is a flawed measure and you would really want to be looking at the net investment position.
posted by shothotbot at 8:27 AM on December 12, 2011

Best answer: Put as simply as possible (and leaving out a lot of important detail) the infographic is a way of showing one major measure of trade. The US, for example, is sending out a lot of money and taking in a lot of stuff. The reverse holds true for China. Without more information about what specific part of the economy you're trying to look at the infographic is kind of meaningless.

There's a reasonably concise discussion of this topic here, if Wikipedia isn't helping you.
posted by Wretch729 at 8:54 AM on December 12, 2011 [1 favorite]