Abhishek Ambad blogs

  Peace, some people say, starts with a smile. But ask anyone who lives in one of the most peaceful countries in the world, and they will probably tell you that it is the other way around. These most peaceful nations also enjoy lower interest rates, a stronger currency, and higher foreign investment—not to mention better political stability and a stronger correlation with the individual level of perceived happiness. Sadly, the economic impact of violence is quantifiable too:  on a global scale, in 2017 it amounted to $14.76 trillion in purchasing-power-parity (PPP) terms, or to 12.4% of the total global gross domestic product (if the sheer scale of these figures makes them a little hard to grasp,  we are talking about $1,988 for each person on the planet). These are the most significant takeaways from the  2018 Global Peace Index  compiled by the international think-tank  Institute for Economics and Peace  (IEP) covering 163 independent states and terr...