Broadberry, Guan and Li (2018) made estimates for China's GDP per capita from 980 to 1840 in order to date the onset of the Great Divergence between China and western European economies. In response to Solar's (2021) criticisms, they (2021) made some revisions to the estimates but largely...

GDP is key to macroeconomics, yet different ways of defining and measuring GDP have particular purposes. This paper examines how total GDP can be conceptualized, dissected and studied and how these improve our analysis and understanding of the sources of economic growth. While each approach is...

This paper proves that the current definitions of GDP are the result of assuming three zeros: depreciation, interest and profit. Such measures may report exaggerate positive income, even though the true income is negative. This paper supports Choi's (2009) finding that Keynes' measure of income...

“Free” consumer entertainment and information from the Internet, largely supported by advertising revenues, has had a major impact on consumer behavior. Some economists believe that measured gross domestic product (GDP) growth since 2000 is too low because it excludes online entertainment...

It is common for comparisons to be made of output growth and inflation across groups of countries, yet such comparisons can result in inconsistencies. We address two problems: (i) how to measure aggregate real output and inflation for groups of countries and (ii) how to construct measures of...

Using a dynamic factor model that allows for changes in both the long-run growth rate of output and the volatility of business cycles, we document a significant decline in long-run output growth in the United States. Our evidence supports the view that most of this slowdown occurred prior to the...

How do we measure economic growth? In the 18th century, well before the birth of Gross Domestic Product commonly used today, looking at the sign of the balance of trade was a way to take the pulse of a nation’s economy. Adam Smith rejects this measure and instead suggests that we should look...

We document that aggregate accounting earnings growth is an incrementally significant leading indicator of growth in nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Professional macro forecasters, however, do not fully incorporate the predictive content embedded in publicly available accounting earnings...

What do we know about the output effects of fiscal policy in low income countries (LICs)? There are very few empirical studies on the subject. This paper fills this gap by estimating the output effects of government spending shocks in LICs. Our analysis-based on the local projection method-finds...

In the euro area, there is mixed evidence that the GDP per capita of lower-income economies has been catching up with that of higher-income economies since the start of monetary union. The significant real convergence performance of some of the most recent members contrasts with that of the...