Last, but not least, some think that emerging markets look cheap, especially compared with America.
Even allowing for its reforms, Europe's productivity performance is bad compared with America's.
EU, although it has 375m people compared with America's 280m, spends only about 57% of what America does on defence.
In Asia, property-related borrowing is heavily curtailed compared with America's pre-crisis boom.
Compared with America, where bail bondsmen, bounty hunters and licensed private dicks all make plausible heroes, the choices for a British crime writer are limited.
It has 400m internet-users compared with America's 240m and India's 80m.
Japan has very high rates of employment among people aged 60-64 compared even with America.
Venture capital, then as now, remains paltry compared with Europe and America.
In 2020 the median age in India will be 28, compared with 38 in America, 45 in western Europe and 49 in Japan.
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Equities account for less than 20% of Chinese households' total financial assets, compared with half in America, so price swings have less impact on spending.
According to Andrew Oswald of Warwick University, only 80 of the world's 1, 200 most-cited scientists are working in Britain, compared with 700 in America, whose lead is growing.
Britain is much less wired than America (perhaps 7% of homes are on-line, compared with around 17% in America), and convergence is not at the top of consumers' lists.
Some 13% of children under three go to day-care centres, compared with 54% in America.
Our projection assumes a 4% inflation rate in China compared with 2% in America.
Leave aside that nowadays Rio looks peaceful compared with parts of Central America.
Only nine of the country's 18, 651 senior academics are under 35, compared with 7% in America and fully 16% in Britain.
Only 60% of the population of working age in the euro area have jobs, compared with 74% in America and 71% in Britain.
Measured against global economic clout, the region is under-represented on the NYSE - 59 Asian companies are listed, compared with 95 from Latin America.
There's room for more growth: credit amounted to just 50% of GDP in Brazil in 2007, compared with 169% in America, according to the World Bank.
According to Norm Miller of the University of San Diego, an average agent in Britain closes 40-50 deals a year, compared with just seven in America.
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Because 41% of scientific papers originate in Europe (compared with 31% in America), the results of this study could have a big effect on the publishing industry.
For instance, in France and Germany, household shareholdings are equivalent to less than 20% of their annual disposable income, compared with 100% in America and 65% in Britain.
Even after a huge expansion of the NHS budget over the past decade, spending on health care in Britain amounted to 8.4% of GDP in 2007 compared with 16% in America, according to the OECD.
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Hoteliers are hobbled, say the consultants, because not only are almost half of the country's hotels more than 100 years old, compared with 3% in America and 14% in France, but they are constrained by planning restrictions.
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Between them, the two account for 28% of internet searches in America, compared with Google's 65%.
Public transport in Britain (don't laugh) is quite sophisticated compared with its regional counterparts in America.
Only 8% of managers are female, compared with around 40% in America and about 20% in China.
The firm's market share in search is only 8.5% in America, compared with Google's share of more than 60%.
At the end of 1999 only around 20% of the population was online, compared with around 40% in America.
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