Chapter 2 "The . economy", after reading this chapter, you should be able to: Explain how an economy’s size is measured, describe the absolute and relative size of the . economy, explain why the . economy can produce so much, recount how the mix of . output has changed over time, describe how (un)equally incomes are distributed. | Chapter 2 The . Economy Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Gross Domestic Product is the total value of final goods and services produced in a country during a given period of time. It is a summary measure of a nation’s output measured by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Commerce Department. 2- GDP is given a brief once over here. It will be revisited in the macro part of the text. Nominal GDP Nominal GDP is the value of GDP measured in current dollars. Because of inflation, it is useless to compare nominal GDP from one year to another. 2- Because inflation distorts the value of a dollar, the effects of inflation must be taken out of GDP numbers in order to have a meaningful period-to-period comparison of output. Real GDP Real GDP is the inflation-adjusted value of GDP or the value of output measured in constant prices. These inflation adjustments delete the effects of rising prices by valuing output in constant prices. 2- Real GDP allows one to compare GDP from different years more accurately. Per Capita GDP Per capita GDP is total GDP divided by total population: average GDP. It is an indicator of how much output each person would get if all output were divided evenly among the population. In 2012, per capita GDP in the . was approximately $49,000 – more than five times the world average. 2- Per capita simply means per person, in other words, an average output. Per capita GDP is a measure of the material standard of living. The Mix of Output The major uses of total output include: Household consumption Business investment Government services Exports 2- Consumption is spending by households. Investment is spending by businesses on capital goods, such as machinery, plant, and equipment. Government services include all spending by government except for income transfers. Exports represent goods sold abroad to other countries. Figure 2- C = Consumer Goods As the world’s leading “consumer” economy, consumer | Chapter 2 The . Economy Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Gross Domestic Product is the total value of final goods and services produced in a country during a given period of time. It is a summary measure of a nation’s output measured by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Commerce Department. 2- GDP is given a brief once over here. It will be revisited in the macro part of the text. Nominal GDP Nominal GDP is the value of GDP measured in current dollars. Because of inflation, it is useless to compare nominal GDP from one year to another. 2- Because inflation distorts the value of a dollar, the effects of inflation must be taken out of GDP numbers in order to have a meaningful period-to-period comparison of output. Real GDP Real GDP is the inflation-adjusted value of GDP or the value of output measured in constant prices. These inflation adjustments delete the effects of rising prices by valuing output in constant prices. 2- Real GDP allows one to compare
