The China Europe International Business School is ranked eighth in the FT's list but only 95th in The Economist's.These differences reflect different methodologies.
The Europeans are not dealing with an economy as weak as in the United States, although for some American economists national differences are no longer the issue, not when surging energy prices are the cause.
North (1990), Acemoglu and Robinson (2013) and other new institutional economists contend that differences in institutions can explain the differences in economic performance across time and space.
According to Cameron Findlay, LendingTree's chief economist, the difference between the rates lenders are giving consumers and what they are paying investors is much higher than it was back when the recession started, meaning that even while rates seem low, lenders have bigger margins and, therefore, have plenty of wiggle room to offer you an even better rate.
To account for these differences, economists make adjustments based on a comparable basket of goods and services across the globe, so-called purchasing-power parity (PPP).
Economists reconciled the differences by saying that the government's report was a broader measure of the industry and included data from smaller retailers that were probably not in other surveys.
For what it's worth, Washington's own economists split the difference.
Economists say that difference speaks volumes about the strength of the nascent recovery in Japan's economy, the world's second largest.
Another difference, economists point out, is that World War II was a boon to the economy, creating jobs, mainly in manufacturing.
Most economists think that difference is the main reason the euro's value against the dollar has failed to recover much even after the United States sank into recession this year.
