Coca-Cola And World Peace

Coca-Cola In Africa

A Big Hat Tip To Tigerhawk For The Following Post:

Remember this ad? Well, the ambition in the ad is reflected in the theory that Coca-Cola is a leading indicator for Africa's stability:

Finally, a political indicator I can get behind. Coca-Cola sales are a key signal of peace and prosperity in Africa, according to an intriguing theory from Jonathan Ledgard, The Economist's Africa correspondent.

Africans buy more than 36 billion bottles of Coca-Cola each year, and the price is low enough that many even in the most impoverished villages can afford a bottle now and then. Folks love their Coca-Cola: As the largest private employer on the continent, Coca-Cola is so entrenched in hearts that people go to the grave with the stuff. And since Coca-Cola tracks its sales and distribution in Africa down to the most minute details, any swift drops in sales or problems in the distribution chain can point to real-time economic hardship and instability.

In other words, if Coke sales drop off swiftly and suddently in parts of, say, Kenya, there is a good chance that either the area has become too dangerous for deliverymen to make their rounds or that something catastrophic is happening to peoples' incomes. Either way, bad news.

It turns out that Cokes and smiles really do go together. Links through the link.

My Comment: Another metric to use in analyzing world peace and war trends.