For a Kinder, Gentler Society
Quality of Life, Balance of Power, and Nuclear Weapons (2014 Updated)
A Statistical Yearbook for Statesmen and Citizens, Updated with Data for 2012
  • Alexander V. Avakov
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Quality of Life, Balance of Power, and Nuclear Weapons (2014 Updated). A Statistical Yearbook for Statesmen and Citizens, Updated with Data for 2012
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Who has the most nuclear assets in the Middle East? Whose power is waning, whose increasing? Updated annually, these tables of economic, demographic and military indicators establish the pecking order for 236 countries, with estimates of all nuclear arsenals including rarely published data on non-signatory nations. The author also brings a rational perspective to the public debates on the supposed efficiency of private health insurance versus a 'public option,' and the notion that taxation stifles the economy,Ã? by offering comparative statistics from different countries in the developed world.

About the Author

Alexander V. Avakov was born in the USSR. Interested in economic statistics since childhood, he accomplished his formal university education in mathematics and mathematical economics with additional studies in economics, philosophy, law, politics, anthropology, sociology and psychology.

As a result of early political maturity he was arrested in 1975 for distributing liberal-minded leaflets at the university. Sentenced to a year and half of hard labor, he was sent to a KGB-run camp for political prisoners. After completing the prison term, he emigrated from the Soviet Union and has since settled with his family in the United States.

Mr. Avakov has published several books with Algora, including Plato’s Dream Realized: Surveillance and Citizen Rights, from KGB to FBI, and a variety of statistical studies analyzing the relative power of nations in terms both economic and military, including undeclared nuclear weapons. Previously published books in Russian include, among others, Autobiography of the Soviet Anti-Soviet Philosopher, and Welcome to the New Security State

About the Book
This statistical annual presents fundamental data in three sections: (1) Quality of Life, (2) Balance of Power, and (3) Developed Market Economies since 1960. It is far more complete other statistical publications. Sections 1 and 2 give statistics...
This statistical annual presents fundamental data in three sections: (1) Quality of Life, (2) Balance of Power, and (3) Developed Market Economies since 1960. It is far more complete other statistical publications. Sections 1 and 2 give statistics for 236 countries, whereas the World Bank and Encyclopedia Britannica provide statistical data for a maximum of about 160 countries. The actual number of countries in World Bank statistical tables is even smaller. The CIA World Factbook gives data for about 230 countries but that data is limited in scope and is imprecise, and other statistical publications are even less satisfactory. The author has managed to increase the number of countries tallied by writing proprietary software utilizing statistical regressions. Section 2 includes data about nuclear delivery systems and the number of nuclear warheads of all nuclear powers, including estimates of the Israeli nuclear arsenal which usually do not appear in the press. Official estimates of Russian military expenditures distributed by U.S. and British intelligence communities are methodologically flawed, claiming to show military expenditures of other countries at market exchange rates while they apparently cite Russian military expense figures at purchasing power parities, thus distorting the comparison. Such deceptive practices of the Anglo-American intelligence services are counter-balanced by presenting two different tables, showing military expenditures estimates both at market exchange rates and by purchasing power parities. Members of the U.S. Congress and others who care about the foundations of power politics in the nuclear age will find facts that speak for themselves in this novel yearbook.
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Pages 230
Year: 2014
BISAC: REF027000
BISAC: POL018000
BISAC: POL001000
Soft Cover
ISBN: 978-1-62894-012-1
Price: USD 22.95
Hard Cover
ISBN: 978-1-62894-013-8
Price: USD 32.95
eBook
ISBN: 978-1-62894-014-5
Price: USD 22.95
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