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Business News/ Opinion / What buzzwords tell us about 2015
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What buzzwords tell us about 2015

They captured the economic and political tide of events across the world

Illustration: Shyamal Banerjee/MintPremium
Illustration: Shyamal Banerjee/Mint

This was the year when an emoji was selected as the word of the year. But it also saw several other buzzwords gain currency, some old and some new. They tell us a lot about what happened around the world.

One of the biggest global economic trends was the end of the commodity supercycle. Prices crashed. One reason was the sharp slowdown in China. Its premier explained the economic transition in his country with an awkward phrase, double-middle-high. He meant that economic growth would move from high to middle speed, while the underlying economic structure would change from low to middle quality.

Li Keqiang also came up with a more interesting metaphor to inform us about the limitations of monetary stimulus: irrigating the soil with too much water. The US ended quantitative easing (QE) by the end of 2014. In December, it finally raised interest rates for the first time since 2006. The Europeans and the Japanese continued to use the printing press to stimulate their economies.

The Japanese government also began to talk more frequently about womanomics. The essential point is that one way to think beyond monetary stimulus is to get more women into the labour force. International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde also used a similar argument in the Indian context. She said that gender parity in the labour force could push up Indian gross domestic product by a quarter.

Her organization introduced a new phrase this year: lowflation, which it said was neither inflation below the central bank target nor outright deflation. India had its own robust inflation debate as the main measures of price change began to give radically different signals. A lot depended on whether you looked at wholesale prices, consumer prices or the deflator. But that was not the only battle the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) fought in 2015. RBI governor Raghuram Rajan also decided to turn the screws on defaulters who he said did not have enough skin in the game.

There was much happening in the world of technology as well. The search for unicorns intensified—new companies whose valuation has crossed $1 billion. Such unicorns were spotted in India as well, thanks to an investment rush. Many of the best unicorns in the world were in what is now described as the sharing economy: companies such as Uber and Airbnb. There was also a lot of buzz about the cashless economy, both here and in other parts of the world. You could not sit through a tech conference without seeing big data mentioned in PowerPoint slides. And let us not forget life hacking—though we wonder how many actually managed to make their routines easier. We also liked the new word from UK PM David Cameron to describe an informal meeting: chaterama.

India had its controversial episode of award wapsi, which then led to a largely vacuous debate on intolerance. Where the Indian government stood out was in the use of acronyms. We had to come to terms with the JAM trilogy, the Planning Commission being replaced by the NITI Aayog, the online PRAGATI platform to empower citizens, the AMRUT mission to rejuvenate cities and the UDAY bailout of state discoms. And let us not forget the little GDP-versus-GVA battle, to decide which measure is a better barometer of Indian economic growth. Meanwhile, references to Make in India and smart cities were all around us.

While on acronyms, there was a lot of debate on how to describe the murderous thugs that want to establish a new caliphate in West Asia: IS, ISIL or ISIS? A lot of serious time was spent on this question. And, since we began with the commodity price crash and have reached the terrorists controlling oil fields, let us not forget the carbon tax. It was forcefully brought into Indian public discussion both after the government increased excise duties on petrol and in the weeks preceding the CoP21 talks in Paris. The idea is a simple one. The best way to reduce pollution is to increase the price of fuel. Unfortunately, nobody gave the memo to Arvind Kejriwal. So, we have the odd-even scheme for New Delhi.

What other buzzwords sum up what happened around the world this year? Tell us at views@livemint.com

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Published: 29 Dec 2015, 07:59 PM IST
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