The Economist (April 30)
2016/ 05/ 02 by jd in Global News
Developed in the wake of the Great Depressions and World Wars, gross domestic product (GDP) was originally designed “to measure the economy’s capacity to produce. Since then, GDP has become a lodestar for policies to set taxes, fix unemployment and manage inflation.” The metric can be inaccurate and is often overstretched. More robust benchmarks must be developed and this will require “a revolution in national statistical agencies as bold as the one that created GDP in the first place”.
Tags: Benchmarks, Economy, GDP, Great Depressions, Inflation, National statistical agencies, Revolution, Taxes, Unemployment, World Wars
