In the Times, I name the real Olympic winners. The GDP numbers I used are here (I used raw GDP, rather than the PPP estimates). Taiwan isn’t in the World Bank list. The CIA’s estimate of its GDP would put it 17th.
The Lui and Suen paper is here (pdf).
When I said success was arguably related to talent I had in mind Anders Ericsson’s scepticism (and this pdf, via Freakonomics).
I wrote:
The Lui and Suen paper is here (pdf).
When I said success was arguably related to talent I had in mind Anders Ericsson’s scepticism (and this pdf, via Freakonomics).
I wrote:
Big groups - nations, firms, government departments - have history, traditions and culture that heavily influence their chances of success or failure. These cannot easily be overridden by the mere will of a leader.
For an example of the halfwittery I had in mind, here’s Garry Cook, executive chairman of Man City:
We’ll be as big as Manchester United…I’ve got to change the culture here…Today you can grow faster than it took United. We just need a superstar.
I’d love him to be right - but then, I’d be happy for a team of Gary Glitters to be as big as Manyoo. But does anyone seriously imagine he possibly could be?
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