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Macao SAR, China

36.2 Late Summer #201 of 217 · MAC · East Asia & Pacific · High income · Data: 5/7 · 2023-2025
What's Driving the Score
Base CCI (7 indicators weighted) 34.6
Hidden extraction (shadow economy, employer burden) +0.1
Development adj (spending below expected for income level) +1.5
Total CCI 36.2
Development Context
GDP per capita: $72,005
Actual spending: 19.6% GDP
Expected (Wagner): 34.3% GDP
Gap: 14.7% below expected
Indicator Breakdown
Each indicator is normalized to 0-100. Higher = more late-cycle pressure. The composite CCI is a weighted average plus adjustments.
Spending
19.6% GDP 19.2 2023
Debt
- - -
Growth
2.6% 49.3 2025
Migration
2.36/1000 44.1 2024
Governance
WGI: 0.98 30.4 2024
Fiscal Pressure
- - -
Demographic
Fert: 0.58 | Dep: 19.9% 39.9 2024
Spending (15% weight) - Total general government expenditure as % of GDP. Source: IMF WEO. Range: 10% (lean) to 60% (heavy state). Higher spending = further in the cycle.
Debt (12%) - Gross government debt as % of GDP. Source: IMF WEO. Range: 0-200%. Debt accumulation is how states finance extraction beyond revenue.
Growth (13%) - Average real GDP per capita growth over 5 years. Source: IMF WEO / World Bank. Inverted: low or negative growth signals extraction is suffocating the productive economy.
Migration (8%) - Net migration rate per 1000 population. Source: UN Population Division via World Bank. Inverted: people leaving is the most honest indicator - they vote with their feet.
Governance (25%) - Blended score: 30% WGI (World Bank - government effectiveness, corruption control, rule of law, regulatory quality) + 70% V-Dem Liberal Democracy Index (University of Gothenburg - executive constraints, civil liberties, judicial independence). WGI measures "does it function?" V-Dem measures "is it constrained?" V-Dem dominates because the cycle thesis is about unconstrained power. Efficient autocracies score high on WGI but low on V-Dem.
Fiscal Pressure (14%) - Interest payments as % of government revenue. Source: World Bank WDI. When interest consumes revenue, the state must tax more, borrow more, or print - the death spiral mechanism.
Demographic (13%) - Composite of fertility rate (below replacement = future worker shortage) and old-age dependency ratio (more retirees per worker = more fiscal pressure). Trajectory signal - affects the cycle in 20-30 years.
Hidden Extraction
Shadow Economy -
Social Contributions 0.5% rev
Self-Employment 6.8%
Spending-Revenue Gap -
Total Hidden Adjustment +0.1 pts 2/4 proxies - moderate confidence
Official spending data understates real extraction. These proxies estimate what's hidden:
Shadow Economy - % of GDP operating outside formal taxation. Source: IMF WP 18/17 (Medina-Schneider). Brazil at 35% means a third of the economy is escaping formal taxation - but citizens still pay through embedded costs.
Social Contributions - Employer payroll burden as % of government revenue. Hidden from workers' payslips. A 22% figure means significant extraction happens before workers see their salary.
Self-Employment - High rates signal people fleeing formal employment because the extraction burden makes it unprofitable. Informal/self-employed workers still pay consumption taxes.
Spending-Revenue Gap - Difference between what the state spends and what it collects as formal tax. The gap is funded by hidden channels: forced savings (e.g. FGTS in Brazil), state enterprises, parastatal organizations, or money printing.
CCI Trajectory (4/7 indicators locked) -5.2 pts (2000-2025)
Spring E.Sum M.Sum L.Sum E.Aut M.Aut L.Aut E.Win 0 20 40 60 80 100 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 38.6 30.8 24.9 43.7 57.7 33.4 data 4/7 0/7
— Locked (4 indicators) — Full (all available per year) ● Current CCI
The solid line uses 4 consistent indicators across all years (apples-to-apples). The dashed line uses every available indicator per year - noisier but shows the full picture. When the lines diverge, the extra indicators are pulling the score in a different direction.
Nearest Countries by CCI Score
# Country CCI Season Delta Data
202 New Zealand 36.2 Late Summer +0.0 7/7
203 Aruba 35.9 Late Summer -0.3 6/7
200 Tuvalu 36.6 Late Summer +0.4 5/7
204 Sweden 35.5 Late Summer -0.7 7/7
205 Greenland 35.5 Late Summer -0.7 4/7
IMF Projected CCI
Based on IMF WEO forecasts for GDP growth and debt/GDP. Other indicators frozen at last known value. Methodology
easing
Current
33.4
locked 2025
Projected
31.2
IMF 2026
2027
30.8
-2.2
delta to 2026