in reply to Re^2: How do North Americans find Europe as a workplace?
in thread How do North Americans find Europe as a workplace?

I don't really think though that Ireland belongs to the same group with the rest of the PIGS.
Well, they aren't in the same group as PIGS. But they're close. That's why there are PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain), PIIGS (PIGS + Ireland) and PIIGGS (PIIGS + United Kingdom).
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Re^4: How do North Americans find Europe as a workplace?
by BrowserUk (Patriarch) on Aug 20, 2010 at 10:43 UTC

    It's interesting where these groupings come from?

    According to most sources I've found, (Eg. gdp.v.national debt), Italy is far more indebted that any of those 4(5(6)). And at the peak of the crisis (june09), the UK comes out better than USA, Canada, Germany or France.

    Do you have better sources?

    Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.
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[reply]
      Wikipedia has an article, with references, which describes the term PIGS and its PIIGS and PIIGGS variations.
      Italy is far more indebted that any of those 4(5(6)).
      Considering that Italy is one of those 4(5(6)), I do not know what you mean.

      Note also that national debt is just a single figure. It doesn't say what kind of debt it is (short term, long term), or, more importantly, where the money is borrowed from. It matters a lot whether a government is able to borrow money "internally" (that is, from its own population and banks) or abroad. The latter carries more risks. And then there are factors like trade deficit, unemployment rate, etc.

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