Post Tagged 'Gross domestic product'

December 02, 2021

Give thanks for economic efficiency

I have never been to an event or cocktail party where raising the issue of economic efficiency engendered a particularly emotional discussion or any level of enthusiasm. I have never been to a Thanksgiving dinner table where someone gave thanks for GDP growth. Continue Reading...

April 19, 2016

The Correlation Between GDP and Human Flourishing

Recently we considered a simple tool and metric for measuring economic well-being: real GDP per capita. Yet such metrics feel can seem materialistic. What about the things that money can’t buy, we wonder, like health and happiness? Continue Reading...

April 15, 2016

A Policy Solution to Fix Inequality and Boost GDP

Andrew Biggs of AEI has a piece up today at Forbes addressing the gender pay gap and provides a neat solution: “forbid women from staying at home with their children.” As Biggs points out, such a policy would address perhaps the greatest root cause of gender pay inequality: varied work experience attributable to choices women make. Continue Reading...

March 11, 2016

How to Understand GDP

What is Gross Domestic Product (GDP)? The definition is rather straightforward: GDP is the market value of all finished goods and services, produced within a country in a year. But that’s not very useful in trying to understand the concept. Continue Reading...

August 25, 2014

Great Britain is Poorer Than Every US State

At the height of power, circa 1922, the British Empire was the largest empire in history, covering one-fifth of the world’s population and almost a quarter of the earth’s total land area. Continue Reading...

July 18, 2014

Is a Nicaraguan and World Bank Partnership Going to Help the Country?

Recently, the World Bank agreed to partner with Nicaragua to give the country 69 million U.S. dollars in aid. This poses the immediate question of whether or not this aid will be effective in producing its stated goal of decreasing poverty and increasing economic productivity. Continue Reading...

June 13, 2013

How to Measure an Economy

Among the most significant economic challenges in America today is getting Americans to understand what an economy is. When the Latin term oeconomia was first used in the 1500s it meant “household management.” Continue Reading...

September 06, 2012

Recessions and Recoveries

Stanford economists Russ Roberts and John Taylor offer a helpful discussion potential GDP, recessions, and recoveries. Their comparison of previous recession/recovery cycles to the most recent one helps to illuminate just how unusual (read: terrible) our current recovery has been. Continue Reading...

July 25, 2011

The Real Both/And Budget Solution

I had the pleasure of appearing on Relevant Radio last Friday to talk to Sheila Liaugminas on her show, “A Closer Look.” I discussed the idea of “intergenerational justice,” a term favored by evangelicals (Roman Catholics tend to talk about “intergenerational solidarity”), and how that concept relates to much of today’s discussion about the federal budget. Continue Reading...