- High unemployment and soaring inflation can be a bad combination.
- That's the main idea behind economist Arthur Okun's "Misery Index," which adds the two factors to determine how "miserable" a country is.
- Using available 2016 data from the World Bank, we put together a list of the 14 countries with the highest misery indices.
It's hard to make a living when you can't find a job, but prices keep climbing and climbing.
That's the main idea behind economist Arthur Okun's "Misery Index." The index is determined by adding together a country's current unemployment rate and its current rate of inflation. The higher the sum, the theory goes, the more "miserable" a country is.
It's not a perfect measure. The index relies on accurate and up-to-date statistics, which not all countries provide. And critics have pointed to studies that show unemployment has a bigger affect on happiness (or unhappiness) than inflation does.
But few would argue that the combination of high unemployment and high inflation is ideal for people who are just trying to get by.
In light of that, Business Insider compiled a list of the 14 countries with the highest misery indices, using 2016 data for unemployment and inflation from the World Bank. Some countries have both high unemployment and inflation, while others experience one factor more so than the other.
The World Bank did not have recent or complete statistics available for a handful of countries, including North Korea, Syria, Libya, Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Yemen, and Argentina. While some of these countries have high inflation, high unemployment, or both — the missing data prevented us from including them on the list.
SEE ALSO: 9 places around the world where housing prices dropped the most in the past year
14. Egypt
Misery Index: 25.8%
Unemployment: 12%
CPI inflation: 13.8%
Egypt's economy has been struggling since 2011, when President Hosni Mubarak was ousted. Its tourism industry — traditionally a major source of hard currency — has been hit particularly hard in recent years.
13. Macedonia
Misery Index: 26.5%
Unemployment: 26.7%
CPI inflation: -0.2%
Macedonia has taken huge steps forward since gaining independence in 1991, but corruption and weak rule of law continue to challenge economic development in the country.
12. Haiti
Misery Index: 27%
Unemployment: 13.2%
CPI inflation: 13.8%
Haiti's economy started to recover in 2015 following the devastating earthquake a few years earlier. But it has been hampered recently by drought conditions and political uncertainty. Nearly 60% of the population lives below the national poverty line.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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