Talk:Gross Domestic Product/Draft

What is going on with this section?

underestimate the value of technological improvements such as increases in computing power. It is thus an incomplete guide to a country’s prosperity - and it is even less useful as a guide to well-being because of its exclusion of such matters as the levels of health, education, and security. The study of the meaning and justification of beliefs about the most general, or universal, aspects of things.

What's that last sentence doing in there? Epistemology?

It also seems like this argument is both completely valid and might be better located in an article on inflation.

Also, I'm working on a graph with GDP figures for a few big countries. Stephen Saletta 23:55, 6 December 2007 (CST)

I plan to return to complete this article when I have dealt with the index number question. I will remove the sentence you have quoted: since you thought it was about inflation, you have misunderstood it - and others will. That philosophy bit got there by accident.

If your graph brings out the danger of making GDP comparisons at nominal exchange rates, it will help to support the text. Otherwise, I'm not sure what purpose it would serve. Nick Gardner 00:58, 7 December 2007 (CST)

Since nothing seems to have been added since May, I have taken the liberty of expanding somewhat on the definition then provided. What now remains might perhaps serve either as a stub, or as the opening of a full article? Nick Gardner 10:40, 4 December 2007 (CST)

Maybe a section on the history of the GDP, links to GDP figures from large countries? Difference between GDP and GNP? Stephen Saletta 12:19, 4 December 2007 (CST)

Thank you for your interest, Stephen. I have done as you suggest, and spelled out the detail on GNP and NI (I had left them out for fear of reaching readers' boredom thresholds, but you are right, someone was bound to ask). I had it in mind to say something about PPP and the other problems of making international comparisons - with, as you suggest, some examples. Also something about the BEA's use of hedonic price indexes and something very brief about HDI, GPI and the rest. And I think there should be a paragraph about estimating errors and uncertainties. And links to material about the compiling of GDP estimates that is available at the BEA and other websites. Can you (or anyone) think of anything else that should be included? Nick Gardner 03:00, 5 December 2007 (CST)

Can someone do something with the mess on GDP deflator and either link to it or perhaps include the content here? --Martin Baldwin-Edwards 02:53, 5 December 2007 (CST)

How about a new article titled "Price Index" that would include the GDP deflator (revised) and the various consumer-, producer- and commodity-price indexes, and that would explain the base- and chain-linking options? Nick Gardner 04:00, 5 December 2007 (CST)

Yes, sounds good. WE have to make sure that all of these are interlinked. Maybe, I am not sure, but maybe the price index article could be a subpage of the GDP article. I think there should be a separate article on HDI, because it is rather more than GDP ! Martin Baldwin-Edwards

I have added in the opening para something on per capita and a link to HDI. Martin Baldwin-Edwards 15:34, 7 December 2007 (CST)

I have put the briefest possible of references to the HDI, ISEW and GPI in the text but I have not shown links for the last two. Perhaps I should? (They all strike me as fruitless games played by academics and pressure groups, to which no policy maker ever gives a second thought. The whole idea of being able to measure policy success by a single number would seem to them to be ridiculous).

I don't at present envisage adding much more, apart from two paragraphs on accuracy and reliability, one for GDP and one for GDP comparisons. Should there be anything else? Nick Gardner 09:40, 8 December 2007 (CST)

Article title

I've just noticed that the article title should be all in caps, as this is abbreviated to GDP. I will move it later, when nobody seems to be working on it. --Martin Baldwin-Edwards 05:15, 8 December 2007 (CST) DONE Martin Baldwin-Edwards 06:20, 8 December 2007 (CST)