Dickson Igwe. Photo: VINO/File

The definition of every economic metric, from Gross Domestic Product and Public Revenue figures, to national debt and annual budget surplus numbers, depends on giving value to scarce resources.

The inflation rate is based on prices of a range of carefully selected products and services, and how much these rise over a fixed period of time.

Demand and Supply determinations depend mainly on market prices. Monetary exchange rates are weighted using strict numbers, both macro and micro, and placing value on an index of global currencies.

Still there are scarce resources, mostly natural and intangible, that cannot be easily priced.

For example, what is the price of safety and security that derives chiefly from a well governed society, but also from sitting in a safe geography? Safety and security in an increasingly dangerous and volatile world is becoming increasingly scarce.

And, how does one put a price on the clean air and pure water that are part of a pristine ecosystem? Both of these are increasingly scarce as mankind continues on an odyssey of environmental depredation.

So, what is the price of a beautiful environment? It cannot be cheap. But it cannot be easily valued either.

What is the price of institutions that work over and above their infrastructure costs and costs of delivery of precious public services?

A country such as Nigeria has spent hundreds of billions of dollars on its institutions. Still, today, its education and medical infrastructure is in deep trouble owing to endemic mismanagement and corruption. Yes economists seldom ponder these questions. But they are extremely valid nonetheless.

The safest countries on earth are clustered in north Western Europe: Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, and to a lesser extent, Germany, France, and the UK.

Living in the first three, guarantees a life free from the random and thoughtless criminal act and the violence of conflict and war.

These countries also possess exceptional public institutions that work. However these additional benefits do not show up in annual GDP metrics. The GDP measures simply reflect the market value of the goods and services produced in a country over a fixed period of time.

Sure, GDP measures are an important component of that which impacts both the quality and standard of living. However, GDP focuses primarily on the material.

GDP is rising steadily in China, or has been in the past decade. However, many Chinese cities are plagued with rising pollution that has impacted negatively on human health.

What is the cost of a cancer caused by air pollution? Can that cost be factored somehow into a country’s standard of living and cost of living metric? It would surely reduce that metric if it could be priced, and probably dramatically.

Living in a black area of Chicago may mean living in one of the world’s leading cities in terms of commerce and technological development. However, what cost is placed on gun violence in Chicago that kills thousands of the city’s residents annually? Nearly 3000 residents were killed in Chicago in 2015: mostly black men.

What is the cost of racism in the US to minority populations? Surely that has to be a major cost if it could actually be priced?

Recently this Old Boy was in conversation with a veritable Big Shot. The Great Man lamented that a number of Virgin Islanders remained in the USA because of the limited opportunities available on islands with a small population of less than 30,000. The conversation had this Story Teller thinking.

For one, this Traveler chose to migrate to the Virgin Islands from the UK many years ago because he found out that living in a highly industrialised, consumer oriented society, was not all it was cut out to be.

His sub consciousness wanted things that a big city found difficult to provide, such as peace, tranquility, and quiet; swift access to a pristine beach; communal living; weekends that felt as such; much safer streets; tempestuous views always just around the next corner; and so on and so forth.

Was he to put a price on these things what would it cost?

So he has made an attempt. He is conservative in his approach. The following figures are random. 

OK, safe roads and streets. The fact remains that Virgin Islands Roads are extremely safe despite the shenanigans of a few overzealous youth riding scooters. One reason for road safety is the limited road network. Another is the fact that the road network mimics a rail network in that one has to follow the flow of traffic whether one likes it or not. He will put a price of $30 a day on road safety. Home burglary has sadly been on the increase in recent years. Still assuming a very low rate of home break in, he will put a price of $20 a day on a home safe from burglars.

Millionaires in New York are willing to pay millions of dollars for views of a park and a river. Views of the Virgin Islands archipelago are clearly worth their weight in gold. Better yet, those fortunate souls who live on a beach or sit on the coastline should think about what it could cost in real terms if they had not been so fortunate to be residents of Xanadu. This Old Boy will put a modest $50 a day on a great view from the verandah or porch, morning, day and night.

One could go on and on. What is the cost of children being able to ride their bicycles on a public road safely?  Or taking a walk on a lovely evening with the other half, without being accosted by beggars or worse yet, thieves and bandits? Both are priceless.

And yes, the Virgin Islands are losing the close knit community dynamic. Still, many families remain tribal and close. So what is the cost of living in close communion with brothers, sisters and cousins? That cannot be priced, and it is probably of very high value.

Yes there are minuses. The prices of too many items in the VI are over the top. And a small population means that there are limits on how large a business can grow, or how deeply one may pursue a career in certain fields. There are limits on goods and services available.  

Many in this country love to state that residents of the Virgin Islands are highly blessed. This Old Boy agrees.

Returning to the pricing exercise, and he is willing to put living in a beautiful, safe, and wholesome community at $100 a day, or $36,000 per annum. It is probably a lot more.

Yes that may sound absurd. How did he arrive at this figure? He arrived at the figure randomly.

And what the preceding narrative states is that he will not take scarce resources that are precious and seemingly free for granted.

A sage mind pondered once, what would happen if men had to buy the air that they breathe?

Yes, that is too terrible to ponder.    

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