Is the United States Still the Best Country in the World? Think Again

26 Pages Posted: 26 Jun 2015 Last revised: 1 Jul 2015

See all articles by Hershey H. Friedman

Hershey H. Friedman

Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Sarah Hertz

State University of New York (SUNY), Empire State College

Date Written: June 24, 2015

Abstract

This paper examines the rankings of the United States in key areas so that people can see for themselves how well the country is actually doing. Areas examined include: percentage of people living below the poverty line, children living in poverty, income inequality, median wealth per adult, happiness, GDP per capita, Corruption Perception Index, quality of education and health, democracy ranking, size of prison population, and stability as a nation. Sadly, the United States does poorly on many of the above measures. The 2015 Social Progress Index, which considers 52 different measures, ranks the United States 16th out of 133 countries. It is hoped that examination of the above statistics will make people aware of how much needs to be done if the United States wants to remain a world power.

Keywords: Ranking of United States, income inequality, Gini coefficient, poverty, social progress index, OECD better Life Index, happiness, Corruption Perception Index, prison population, and Fragile States Index

JEL Classification: A1, A2, Y10

Suggested Citation

Friedman, Hershey H. and Hertz, Sarah, Is the United States Still the Best Country in the World? Think Again (June 24, 2015). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2622722 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2622722

Hershey H. Friedman (Contact Author)

Brooklyn College of the City University of New York ( email )

Sarah Hertz

State University of New York (SUNY), Empire State College ( email )

325 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10013
United States

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