How have the world's big economies fared since 2007?

AS MANY rich economies face recession this year, it is interesting to compare how output per person has changed in the world's big economies since 2007, just before the financial crisis hit. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit's forecasts, people in Britain, America, France and Japan will be less well-off in 2012 than they were in 2007. In Britain, real GDP per person will drop by more than 5% compared with its pre-crisis level. Germany and the BRIC countries are doing better. India's real output per person is forecast to be 34% higher this year than it was in 2007; the increase in China will be over 50%.