Japan+Manufacturing+Deteriorates+at+Fastest+Pace+in+Nine+Years+After+Quake-Kenny

**Summary:**
====The article describes how the recent 8.0 quake that hit Japan has affected its manufacturing, or exports. A decrease in exports means a decrease in the supply of products made in Japan, and so ultimately will affect Japan's economic measure of gross domestic product. The quake destroyed much of the land (floods) capital (destroyed factories) and labor (deaths), all factors of production that cause Japan's production to drop, which ultimately drops Japan's GDP and stocks (7% drop in Nikkei 225). One such example is Japan Tobacco, the world's third-LARGEST cigarette producer. An implication from less cigarette production will be that Japan's average life expectancy will increase, since life expectancy is a measure of health and not external factors such as war and natural disasters. Another major factor that contributes to a decrease in supply is the electricity supply, which has a direct effect on the running hours of factories. This is an example of macroeconomics (economics across multiple disciplines). A decrease in supply results in... a higher equilibrium price and a lower equilibrium supply. This implies that Japanese goods to other countries may be more expensive, though not necessarily true for domestic goods as Japan is still on its path of relief and recovery. The article further discusses the limitations of Japan's economic data. It explains that since the quake hit, the Japanese economic department has only received "5 percent of the average number of replies from respondents in the Tohoku region."====

Commodity-a raw material or primary agricultural product that can be bought and sold, such as copper or coffee.
Employment (measure) - A level of unemployment

Supply- The quantity of a good or supply offered Production-
====Human Development Index- A measure of human development using three equally weighted dimensions of human development - life expectancy at birth, adult literacy and mean years of schooling and income (purchasing power per capita in dollars)====

**Evaluation**
I believe that this article is true to a very large extent. The writer connects the hard evidence with economic theories to show how GDP is decreasing, rather than most articles that just give a broad statement and don't show how they got to the statement. e.g. the article is divided into unemployment and rolling blackouts to show just how GDP is related to these two factors. Also, the article mentions "survivor bias", a type of limitation in economic data - “Businesses that haven’t been able to send back their responses are the ones that have been damaged the most.” I agree with the data and believe everything that is stated is true. However, the article does not offer solutions of how Japan can recover, though it mentions the effects of a decrease in exports or supply of Japanese goods.