As a global macro-investor for over 50 years, I’ve spent a lot of time studying what makes countries healthy and unhealthy, and observing how the decisions made by policymakers impact the trajectories of their countries. I like to quantitatively measure those forces so I can build systems for making decisions better. For that reason, I converted my learnings into measures and models that show each country’s strengths and weaknesses, or what I call their “powers.” 

 

I measure 18 different types of powers, in 18 different indices, which are each made up of many indicators. These power indices measure the strengths of influences such as education, innovation and technology development, the civility of the people, economic output, reserve currency status, military, and many others. They, in turn, are combined into one overall reading of each country’s power. Because they are quantitatively measured, one can see the relative strengths of countries in all of these dimensions, and can see whether the country is strengthening or weakening in these several ways.