If 2016 was the year of political shocks, this could be the year we find how they'll affect the global economy. Bloomberg's Misery Index, which combines countries' 2017 inflation and unemployment outlooks, aims to show us just that.

For the third year in a row, Venezuela's economic and political problems make it the most miserable in the ranking. The least miserable country is once again Thailand, in large part due to its unique way of calculating employment. The rest of the index features noteworthy moves by the U.K., Poland and Mexico, to name a few. 

Economic woes have plagued Venezuela for years. Sluggish prices for oil, the country's only significant export, have fueled a crisis that has left grocery store shelves empty, hospitals without basic medications and violent crime rampant as desperation leads to anger. While the country has not reported economic data since 2015, Bloomberg's Cafe Con Leche Index, which aims to track inflation via the cost of a cup of coffee, shows a price surge of 1,419% since mid-August. Economists estimate that prices will rise almost six-fold this year, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.

Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to Treasury & Risk, part of your ALM digital membership.

Your access to unlimited Treasury & Risk content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Thought leadership on regulatory changes, economic trends, corporate success stories, and tactical solutions for treasurers, CFOs, risk managers, controllers, and other finance professionals
  • Informative weekly newsletter featuring news, analysis, real-world case studies, and other critical content
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.