My job involves reading a lot of stuff about the state of the world's economies, and one thing I find curious is the metaphorical and humanising language economists use to describe abstract economic currents that are best charted emotionlessly with a line and a couple of axes (worst.plural.ever). The first few lines are taken directly from a report about Croatia I edited today.
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Growth in 2015 will be weak at best, and the economy could continue
to stagnate. Import growth is subdued because of constraints on domestic
consumption. Croatia is experiencing sustained deflation.
Croatia is experiencing sustained deflation.
Croatia
is experiencing
sustained
deflation
How does that feel, I wonder?
An emotional response, like the inverse of elation?
Or something else – a physical sensation,
A shrinking, perhaps – a country punctured
Like a tyre with a splinter?
Or maybe it’s both – like a cock drooping,
A hairline receding, a back stooping
Under a harsh winter.
