go to
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/magazine/16GDP-t.html?scp=1&sq=the%20rise%20and%20fall%20of%20the%20gdp&st=cse
and read the article on GDP. Please post a comment BEFORE class on Friday about why GDP is or is not a good measure of growth, what should it contain or leave out and whether you are you low or high GDP person. You have lots of choices here. Try and make your comment substantive and be sure to fully explain your point.
and read the article on GDP. Please post a comment BEFORE class on Friday about why GDP is or is not a good measure of growth, what should it contain or leave out and whether you are you low or high GDP person. You have lots of choices here. Try and make your comment substantive and be sure to fully explain your point.
Posts
I believe the GDP, or the gross domestic product, is a fair enough measure of the economy's success. There are several important factors in the GDP which can indicate how a country is doing economically. I believe that the government can improve it by adding a few more factors such as employment, education, and people who work from home. I disagree with the article that it should not include happiness or carbon emissions. Happiness isn't a real statistic and can't fairly be measured, and carbon efficiency, I believe, doesn't necessarily state whether a country's GDP is high or low. I think based on the fact that I go to Episcopal, drive a car, and have a solid standard of living at home would put me as a "high GDP"
ReplyDeleteDJ Jones
GDP is a functional measure of growth because it presents the economic output of a country impartially and at face value. Employment rates don't necessarily determine the productivity of a country, and obviously neither does happiness. Surely some of the happiest people are the ones who dont work ("produce") at all. I am a high GDP person because I produce next to nothing, but i consume a lot. I spend money, thereby employing people, but I, myself, am not employed.
ReplyDeleteHayley Hansson
I do not believe that the GDP is a functional measure of growth. The author of the article makes it sound like the ancient and not-precise way of measuring a society's progress. He says that the GDP is run by economists and could perhaps be biased in things such as political goals. He says that the GDP is an "inaccurate and misleading gauge of prosperity." Although the GDP contains come kinks that it needs to work out, it can be greatly improved. This brings us to the next part of the article where the author speaks of a new technological break through that will, perhaps, replace the GDP. This competitor comes in the form of hundreds of websites that mark the specific outputs of a country. This will help anyone to see where our country needs to specifically improve. These are unbiased and more accurate. I would say that I am a high GDP because I purchase things and will be working soon.
ReplyDeleteJulia Nini
I think that the GPD functions as a relatively good measure of growth. Americans and even people from other developed countries are able to obtain an economic status and as Norhaus says, it has made an "enormous difference to track what’s happening in the economy through indexes." The GPD number should keep farmers' harvest included but add trading stocks. It shouldn't focus too much on retail sales though. I don't work or pay for a mortgage so I can't really categorize myself as a high or low GDP person. However, I feel as if I am part of a high GDP family. Although my father loves to make time for a vacation, he also works and spends hard. He allows me to have a great education and consumes a lot.
ReplyDeleteTemi Oyinlola
i believe that GPD provides a relatively accurate description of growth as a whole. it depicts accurate models of what a nations economy is doing, based on growth or decline although their are still flaws in the system. a new and imporved way of determining these numbers will however replace GPD as is told to us in the article. in relation to myself and my family, we contribute to a high GPD based on our vacationing and amount of goods we consume. the amount of money spent on education and food result in a high GPD.
ReplyDeleteDavis Ketterer
GPD is a good way of measuring economic growth of the whole country to an extent. Economists should not lose sight of the fact that there are other contributors to our economy and society as a whole. Also, not every person in a job is being totally efficient all of the time. I believe that my family is a high GPD family because my father has worked hard for many years and continues to work hard for the sake of our education so that we may live comfortably and do the same for our kids.
ReplyDeleteAli Levy
The Gross Domestic Product is a fair way of measuring economic growth but is not good enough. I believe we could find a better way today to calculate our economic growth, especially since "the GDP has not only failed to capture the well-being of a 21st-century society but has also skewed global political objectives toward the single-minded pursuit of economic growth". I think a way of measuring our countries economic growth is vital to avoid another crisis (e.g in the 1930's) but I believe there is a better option. One way of improving the GDP is "to repair such an imbalance would be to institutionalize other national indicators (environmental, say, or health-related) to reflect the true complexity of human progress." Our family is a high GPD family because of the amount of money we spend on education, vacations, luxuries, and how hard my father has worked throughout his life.
ReplyDeleteTravis Gauntt
I think that GDP functions as a good economic measurement because it measures the countries entire economic output. However, it seems like this plan has flaws since we cannot know every single bit of economic growth.
ReplyDelete