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Can Political Upheaval Protect You From Recession?

A couple of months ago, while working on a story about what the recession is called in other countries, I reached out to a Lebanese friend who working in Washington, D.C. Her response: There wasn’t a recession in Lebanon. Hmm, I thought. Something to look into.

Dr. Doom is ahead of me, as always. (Not to mentioned overhyped, but stay with me.)  Nouriel Roubini has done a survey of countries that have been gliding through the downturn for Forbes.com. “All economies have been affected by the crisis, but a combination of policy responses and strong fundamentals has given some countries, especially some emerging market economies, a relative edge,” he says.

Strong fundamentals aren’t the whole story. In Lebanon’s case, for example, banking regulations kept a lid on subprime investments that the U.S. banks all went wild for. But there was also an upside to “domestic political uncertainty”—it helped keep the country’s economy relatively isolated.

Also on the list are India, which has seen growth slow—but to “only” 6 percent this year; and the Philippines, because relatives are continuing to send money back from other countries.  The complete story is worth a read—if only for relocation possibilities. (All the cool kids are doing it.)

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Tags: economy, international