Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

curiosity-12 t1_jd0wrjj wrote

Why is it relevant to compare a stock (assets under management) to a flow (Swiss GDP)? Perhaps a more relevant comparison would be the assets of a large pension fund (eg Calpers).

2

Cooperativism62 t1_jd45mo3 wrote

Because if the Swiss government acted as dealer of last resort, buying up the assets under management, then Swiss dept to GDP ratio skyrockets.

So yes, it is good to compare a stock (like a lambo) to a flow (your income) in the event of a purchase.

3

curiosity-12 t1_jd4fd1b wrote

Point taken and hadn’t considered that. Would it then make sense to show that comparison? I don’t know if the amounts represented benchmark favorably or unfavorably against other countries.

1

Cooperativism62 t1_jd4irli wrote

Data representation always comes with pros and cons, it's rarely perfect.

I think its fair as a simple respresentation to show their assets and compare them to Swiss GPD since the Swiss government may eventually play a role through a bailout, and I believe that's what OP is implying. Obviously you can and should do deeper analysis, like cross-country comparisons and so on, but hey, this is r/dataisbeatiful not "thisismyPHDthesis".

1