GDP As a Measure of the Economy
The GDP is not a sufficient gauge of how the nation's economy is doing.
The GDP is a sum of the monetary value of what has been produced in the
nation in the past year. The formula for calculating the GDP ignores a
large percentage of the activities that transpire in the nation's
economy. The formula ignores several things as work done in the home and
activities in the underground economy. In general, the GDP includes
several items that in reality do not indicate the nation's economic
level while excluding a large proportion of the activities of the
nation.
The GDP does not include several things that greatly affect the nation's
economic standings. The formula does not consider these things simply
because they cannot be measured with any accuracy. The work done in the
home affects the welfare of the economy because it takes time to care
for a house, time that an individual could be working. So in essence, an
individual pays themselves to for housework. Also, the underground
economy encompasses a considerable amount of the transactions in the
economy. This underground economy consists of illicit transactions and
the legal ones that cannot be traced. GDP does not include the
ecological damage rendered every day by humanity. The pollution caused
by everyday life such as trash and the pollution caused by factories and
such all damper the economic standings of a nation. While several
immeasurable items are left out of the calculation of GDP, a few things
are included that do not necessarily need top be. When a disaster
strikes a community, the costs of rebuilding are counted in the GDP. The
should be counted because it causes work for some but it also is hurting
others.
In summation, GDP is not a competent ranking of the nation's economic
standings. In the determine of GDP, there are too many items left out of
the formula and one too many to give a accurate description of the
economy's well-being.
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