International Difference Between Gdp and Quality of Life
Macroeconomics
Assignment 1
Project report:
International difference between GDP and Quality of life
Subject name: Macroeconomics
Teacher’s name: Dr. Nguyen Trong Hoai
Student’s names: 1) Ho Tran Thuy Nguyen 2) Nguyen Le Hoang Phuong 3) Phan Hoang Anh Thu 4) Huynh Thi Thu Ha 5) Le Phuoc Thanh Tin 6) Loi Kim Chau 7) Han Khanh Phương 8) Le Hoang Vu 9) Vu Quang Huy
Date due: 15/05/2011
Table of Contents
I/ Introduction: 3
II/ GDP- a powerful tool for economics measurement: 4
III/ Why is GDP not a perfect measure of well-being? 7 1. Leisure time: 7 2. The environment: 8 3. Non-market activity: 10
IV/ Conclusion: 11
I/ Introduction:
It is no doubt that if people want to judge a person is doing economically, they usually first look at his or her income. Similarly, when talking about an economic condition of a country, it is not surprise that people most frequently look at the average income of that nation or in other word, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. To be more specific, the most commonly accepted method of comparing generalized differences in quality of life on a whole between nations is to use GDP per capita on purchasing power parity (PPP) basis in current international dollars.
In our report, we propose to clarify the usefulness (the reason why economists use GDP per capita as a major measurement) as well as the limitation when using GDP to measure the economic well-beings of a nation.
Before looking at pros and cons of GDP, it is necessary to know how GDP and GDP per capita are defined. The economists definite Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period of time, while GDP per capita is the GDP of a country divided by its population.
The difference between GDP and GDP per capita is also an important thing which must be considered. A country with high GDP does not mean it has high GDP per
Assignment 1
Project report:
International difference between GDP and Quality of life
Subject name: Macroeconomics
Teacher’s name: Dr. Nguyen Trong Hoai
Student’s names: 1) Ho Tran Thuy Nguyen 2) Nguyen Le Hoang Phuong 3) Phan Hoang Anh Thu 4) Huynh Thi Thu Ha 5) Le Phuoc Thanh Tin 6) Loi Kim Chau 7) Han Khanh Phương 8) Le Hoang Vu 9) Vu Quang Huy
Date due: 15/05/2011
Table of Contents
I/ Introduction: 3
II/ GDP- a powerful tool for economics measurement: 4
III/ Why is GDP not a perfect measure of well-being? 7 1. Leisure time: 7 2. The environment: 8 3. Non-market activity: 10
IV/ Conclusion: 11
I/ Introduction:
It is no doubt that if people want to judge a person is doing economically, they usually first look at his or her income. Similarly, when talking about an economic condition of a country, it is not surprise that people most frequently look at the average income of that nation or in other word, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. To be more specific, the most commonly accepted method of comparing generalized differences in quality of life on a whole between nations is to use GDP per capita on purchasing power parity (PPP) basis in current international dollars.
In our report, we propose to clarify the usefulness (the reason why economists use GDP per capita as a major measurement) as well as the limitation when using GDP to measure the economic well-beings of a nation.
Before looking at pros and cons of GDP, it is necessary to know how GDP and GDP per capita are defined. The economists definite Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period of time, while GDP per capita is the GDP of a country divided by its population.
The difference between GDP and GDP per capita is also an important thing which must be considered. A country with high GDP does not mean it has high GDP per
References: ‘Human Development Index’ 2004, Wikipedia, viewed 10 May 2011, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index>. GDP, viewed 8 May 2011, <http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_gdp_percap-economy-gdp-per-capita>. Mankiw, N 2004, ‘measuring a nation income’, principles of economics, 2ndedt, Thomson, UK, viewed on 7 May 2011. “Mercer ranks countries paid-vacation policies” and “GDP purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita in 2007 by CIA World Factbook”. 2010 Environmental Performance Index,<http://envirocenter.research.yale.edu>. List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air pollution>.