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GDP. Definition. Gross Domestic Product: The dollar value of all final goods and services produced within a country’s borders in a given year. GDP is considered an indicator of a country’s wealth. Note that final goods are those that are sold to consumers, and not used to produce other goods.
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Definition • Gross Domestic Product: • The dollar value of all final goods and services produced within a country’s borders in a given year. • GDP is considered an indicator of a country’s wealth. • Note that final goods are those that are sold to consumers, and not used to produce other goods. • Goods produced by US companies abroad are not included in GDP. • Goods produced by foreign companies in the US are included in GDP.
Calculation of GDP • Expenditure approach: • Add the total spent by consumers on goods and services. • Income approach: • Add the amount of income received by individuals who help produce goods and services. • Ideally, both approaches give identical totals.
Nominal GDP v. Real GDP • Nominal GDP: • Each year’s GDP is based on its own price levels. • For example, the GDP for 1950 represents much lower price levels than that for 2000. • Changes in nominal GDP are not as meaningful as they could be, since an increase could possibly be due mainly to higher price levels.
Nominal GDP v. Real GDP, cont. • Real GDP: • Each year’s GDP is adjusted to account for changes in price levels, so it gives a more accurate picture of economic growth. • For example, the GDPs for both 1950 and 2000 may be expressed in this year’s (or any other year’s) dollars. • When real GDP increases, the economy is growing. • When real GDP decreases, the economy is shrinking.
Nominal GDP v. Real GDP, cont. Nominal GDP • 1950: 293.7 billion • 2000: 9,951.5 billion • The nominal GDP for 2000 is almost 34 times that for 1950. Real GDP • 1950: 15.872 • 2000: 88.852 • The real GDP for 200 is less than 6 times that for 1950. • (These numbers are indexed so that the 2005 real GDP = 100.)
GDP Per Capita • When comparing different countries’ GDPs, it can be misleading when one country has a much greater population than the other. • GDP per capita addresses this problem by dividing a country’s GDP by its population. • This is a much better means of comparing the wealth of different countries.
Aggregate Demand and Supply • Aggregate = overall for the entire country • Aggregate demand (AD) and aggregate supply (AS) are used in macroeconomics to understand changes in real GDP. • They work essentially the same way as demand and supply in microeconomics. • Instead of price and quantity, we use price level and real GDP. • Price level is essentially the average price for all goods and services for a country. • Real GDP is the easiest way to measure the quantity of all goods and services for a country.