Assignment:
"Is the GDP Still Accurate in the Digital Age?"
What the GDP measures, if anything, has become quite the issue in the digital age. Consider this data:
In 2012, U.S. Real GDP was $15,345.63 billion and Real Per Capita GDP was $48,842 billion.
Five years later, at the end of 2017, U.S. Real GDP was $17,096.18 billion and Real Per Capita GDP was $52,446 billion. (All data was extracted May 20, 2018, from FRED https://fred.stlouisfed.org/.)
Read this blog, GDP: Falling Short, to help you answer discussion questions. https://blogs.imf.org/2017/12/22/gdp-falling-short/
Reply to these questions in your response:
- Considering the data above, did the U.S. make progress? Explain your answer.
- Given what you know now about economics, should the measure of GDP be changed? Why or why not?