01) Need recent 2001 or 2002 GNP estimates for the CAR, DRC, Sudan
02) Need a single ratio (similar to QUICK but tailored to governments)
to describe the financial health of each of the above countries, so I
can compare them based on that one ratio.

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Request for Question Clarification by omnivorous-ga on 23 Jan 2003 09:59 PST

Kongulu --

The first question's pretty easy to answer.  

It's the 2nd that's a problem.  You could use government spending as a
percentage of GNP or GDP but that really doesn't tell you much. 
Inflation is often used as an indicator of financial management; the
Fraser Institute publishes a widely-known study called "Economic
Freedom of the World."  The Fraser Institute's study correlates
economic freedom with national wealth.

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

Kongulu --

1)  The CIA World Factbook is a quick resource to national
information, including GDP and government spending.  Here is the link,
which has drop-down selections for all three countries and data for
2001:
Central Intelligence Agency
"World Factbook 2002"
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/

2)  The Fraser Institute has published a long time series studying
economic issues as they pertain to freedom.    For government
consumption they are using budget as percentage of GDP as their
"quick" ratio.  There is no data for several African countries,
including Sudan and Ethiopia.
Economic Freedom of the World, 2002
"Country Data Tables"
http://www.freetheworld.com/2002/4EFW02tablesA-C.pdf
Page 22: CAR
Page 27: DRC

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

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Request for Answer Clarification by kongulu-ga on 24 Jan 2003 01:52 PST

Please keep an eye out for a new question post rephrasing of the
second part of the question.

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Clarification of Answer by omnivorous-ga on 24 Jan 2003 02:23 PST

Kongulu --

Thanks for your kind comments and the additional sum.

If I had to use one number, I'd use government spending as a % of GDP
(as does the Fraser Institute), though it's more a rough measure of
fiscal policy than one of effectiveness.  The DRC is a good example --
the central government controls only a part of the country; Uganda
runs the NE and Rwanda much of the Kivu region.  Government spending
is low but not a good indicator of effectiveness.

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

Useful answer. Provided link I was not previously aware of. Thank you.