High flying without a parachute

The April 2007 issue of Business Week laments about the cautious Chinese consumer: In China private consumption is less than 40% of the GDP which BW compares to India at about 60% of the GDP. Leaving the worrying about China to BW, I wish to wonder instead what this says about Indian personal spending trends. Especially in light of private consumption in developed nations: India beats out both Japan and Germany and gets scarily close to the consumption king, the USA at about 70%.

If I am reading this right, and its probable I am not (a query to the masters on PEN-L should ascertain that; expect an update shortly), Indians are on a merry spending binge, cheered on by the “flattening” world which they consider themselves an inhabitant of, impervious to the existence of a security net for the residents of the welfare states whose league they are playing in. Let us hope they do not fall off the edge!