Thursday, October 27, 2011

Depressions economic & meteorological

Researchers have claimed to find a causal relation between weather & the outcome of elections.

Major volcano explosions in the past have had long term effects on world weather, farming & economy.

I wonder if any research has been done into the relationship, if any, between weather & economic depressions.

The sudden brief burst of Indian summer in this country only added to the sense of doom & anxiety about the economy. Just another piece of evidence, after the long run of no summer & unaccustomed winter snows not previously experienced by anyone under the age of forty or so, that we are living in a world turned upside down.

I do not suggest that the weather causes recession as such, at least not in economies which are not largely dependent on harvests, but may influence the speed of recovery. The last thing politicians need when they are trying to encourage a sense of come on, we can get out of this quagmire of debt.

There is some possibly good news however. According to the cash machine group Link, Friday Sept 30 was the busiest day of the year so far - £577m of cash withdrawn before the hot weekend. Unless of course everybody decided on just one last fling before hatches are well & truly battened.