And even at its current price, both gun and ammunition compare favourably with alternative methods of dealing with dug-in gunmen.

ECONOMIST: Military technology

Levels of capital and infrastructure investment compare favourably with China's.

ECONOMIST: Banyan

At an aggregate level, say supporters of the idea, the debt and deficit figures of the euro zone compare favourably with those of America and Britain, whose bonds are treated as safe.

ECONOMIST: Charlemagne: The end of Monnet | The

Mr Brown insisted that the ethos of those employed by the state is uniquely virtuous, even though in many parts of the country their salary and benefits compare favourably with the private sector.

ECONOMIST: Poor old Gordon Brown. Yet again Tony Blair has upstaged him