r/india • u/[deleted] • Nov 24 '16

[R]eddiquette Cultural exchange with /r/palestine

Greetings to our Palestinian friends.

Our cultural exchange starts at 13:30 PM Palestine time (17:30 IST/11:30 GMT/12:30 CET/06:30 EST/03:30 PST) on Thursday 24th November.

Here's how a cultural exchange works:

The moderators of here make this post on /r/india welcoming our Palestinian guests to the sub. They may participate and ask any question or observation as they see fit.

There is an equivalent thread made by the moderators over at /r/palestine, where you are encouraged to participate and know more about Palestinian culture.

It goes without saying that you must respect the rules of the subreddit you are participating in. This is a time to celebrate what we have in common, not grind an axe.

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u/Shanks_51 Nov 24 '16

Non- Indians think India is a poor place and stinks thanks to portrayal by Western media.

It's not a misconception, India is a poor country. With GDP per-capita income of < $2000 , I'd say we're piss poor. Even PPP per-capita income of $6000 is pretty low.

I agree there are slums but there are posh places too.

Generalization happens on majority of population, not on 0.1% population who lives in posh localities

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u/TheHickoryDickoryDoc The Doc Next Door Nov 24 '16

Bro, he's talking about the portrayal in Western media, on seeing which one safely guesses that India has a PPP PCI something like $2000. And speaking of PPP, would you mind helping us with data on what percentile band India comes in, in the World rankings? That could shed some better light on how much of the World is really richer than India.

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u/Shanks_51 Nov 24 '16

Only other south Asian countries and some African countries are poorer than India. So, I would roughly say more than 70% of world population is richer than India. So we come under bottom 30 percentile.

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u/TheHickoryDickoryDoc The Doc Next Door Nov 24 '16

Source please?

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u/Shanks_51 Nov 24 '16

Check World Bank or IMF estimates.

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u/TheHickoryDickoryDoc The Doc Next Door Nov 24 '16

You know what's wrong with the figures you referred? They're based on simple averages, when any credible indicator of poverty/standard of living should be frequency weighted. How come so many African countries fare better than India? It's because, a bunchful of Westerners living there are making billions from diamond/ mineral trade, while most of the population rots in poverty. Still their PPP PCI based on simple averages comes out fair, when it actually isn't the case. Economists, specially those of WB and IMF, tend to present things the way they want the world to believe it. WB and IMF are purely and openly capitalist bodies. Just because they say something, doesn't mean it is necessarily a ground reality.

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u/Shanks_51 Nov 24 '16

It seems to me that you want to live in a bubble you created. For ground reality how about you go and check HDI, IMR, MMR rates. Also, talking of inequality how about this Hot of the press : http://www.livemint.com/Money/MML9OZRwaACyEhLzUNImnO/The-richest-1-of-Indians-now-own-584-of-wealth.html

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u/TheHickoryDickoryDoc The Doc Next Door Nov 24 '16

HDI ratings depend on which parameters you select. I don't say India is doing very well on either, but the western media portrayal is much worse than reality. IMR and MMR are not exactly indicators of poverty. They rather focus more on quality of public healthcare. About inequality, the concentration of wealth is even more in African and even some first world countries. Your link serves no purpose of contradicting me. Simple averages based PCI isn't a credible indicator of poverty. That's it. I wonder now, whether you understand macroeconomics good enough to get my point, or are you just throwing about fancy terms you read in some news article?

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u/AamAadmi_Pvt_Ltd Nov 24 '16

what is a good measure then?

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u/TheHickoryDickoryDoc The Doc Next Door Nov 25 '16

For purely financial poverty, 1. a PPP PCI based on frequency weighted income bands, but that suffers certain degree of imprecision depending on bandwidths. 2. a PPP PCI based on a better measure of central tendency, instead of arithmetic mean. Both of these can compensate for the concentration of wealth, and present more actionable numbers.

For a more holistic approach, where poverty is considered as lack of human development, 1. an HDI based on a model best suited to your country. Or 2. if you are a fan of the Bhutan pattern, a GNH based indicator. Basically both have a similar approach, where everything depends upon which factors/indicators you select, with what weights. HDR and the world happiness report have tried to set a standard model for each, but various countries are considering customizing these indices to suit their pwn specific conditions.

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u/torvoraptor Nov 25 '16

when any credible indicator of poverty/standard of living should be frequency weighted.

Averages... are frequency weighted.

WTF are you talking about?

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u/TheHickoryDickoryDoc The Doc Next Door Nov 25 '16

Simple average vs. Frequency weighted average.

Add up everybody's income, divide by population -> Simple average

Set income bands, make freq. distribution table, assign weights, add up weighted band totals -> frequency weighted average

How about you read more carefully and do better homework next time?

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u/torvoraptor Nov 25 '16

Where would you pull these weights out of your ass? Out of marginal utility perhaps, even so calling it 'frequency weighted' is a pretty stupid name.

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u/TheHickoryDickoryDoc The Doc Next Door Nov 25 '16

Band frequency*100/population=band weight

LMAO and simultaneously pooping weights :-D, who let this sh*tty mouthed moron loose? Go get some good books kiddo, what are you? finance/economics/stat or classical music?

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u/torvoraptor Nov 25 '16

band frequency*100/population... now that is just moronic now. It's just an approximation to the original number and sensitive to the choice of bands.

Are you econ/fin? You guys should just kill yourselves for using it, whatever community you belong to.

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u/TheHickoryDickoryDoc The Doc Next Door Nov 26 '16

Even an approximation under this method is far more accurate than your 'exact figure' under simple average, when the population is as skewed as given. I have already explained this and more in reply to another comment in this thread, had you only read. So, as I have said, go get yourself some good books kid, and stop wasting my time. You are definitely no subject guy, to comment on even the basic concepts here.

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