1 / 57

Chapter 2

Chapter 2. Measuring Macroeconomic Data. Preview. To examine the different approaches to measuring gross domestic product To understand real versus nominal GDP To understand how to measure inflation To understand how to measure unemployment To understand different interest rates.

riddell
Download Presentation

Chapter 2

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Chapter 2 Measuring Macroeconomic Data

  2. Preview To examine the different approaches to measuring gross domestic product To understand real versus nominal GDP To understand how to measure inflation To understand how to measure unemployment To understand different interest rates

  3. Measuring Economic Activity: National Income Accounting Gross domestic product (GDP) is the total value of goods and services produced in an economy the broadest measure of economic activity

  4. National income accounting is an accounting system that measures economic activity and its components Fundamental identity of national income accounting: Measuring Economic Activity: National Income Accounting (cont’d) Total Production = Total Expenditure = Total Income

  5. Measuring GDP: The Production Approach GDP is the current market value of all final goods and services newly produced in the economy during a fixed period of time In the case of apples and oranges, we multiply the their prices and quantities, and then add them up: GDP = (price of apples ✕ quantity of apples) + (price of oranges ✕ quantity of oranges)

  6. Market Value Not all goods and services are counted in GDP because they are: Nonmarket goods and services, which do not have a market price (e.g., household services produced within a family), or Produced in the underground economy Many nonmarket goods and services are counted in GDP by their imputed values

  7. Newly Produced Goods and Services GDP includes only goods and services that are newly produced in the current period If you buy a 3-year-old car from a car dealership The cost of the used car is not included in GDP The value of the services provided by the car dealership is included in GDP

  8. Valued-Added Technique Value added is the value of a firm’s output minus the cost of the intermediate goods purchased by the firm By adding up the value added from each firm, we get the final value of the goods and services produced

  9. Capital Goods A capital good (e.g., a robot) is used in the production of other goods that is not used up in the stages of production New capital goods are classified as final goods because they are not included in spending on other final goods and yet their production is part of economic activity

  10. Inventory Investment Inventory investment is the change in inventories (firms’ holdings of raw materials, unfinished goods and unsold finished goods) over a given period of time Inventory investment is included in GDP for the same reason that we include capital goods

  11. Fixed Period of Time We calculate GDP over a fixed period of time, such as a quarter or a year GDP is a flow, which is an amount per a given unit of time By contrast, a stock is a quantity at a given point in time

  12. Policy and Practice: Can GDP Buy Happiness? Is GDP the best measurement of national well-being? In 1972, the king of Bhutan proposed the replacement of GDP by “gross national happiness” that incorporates factors such as spirituality and culture In 1990, the United Nations began to rank countries on a so-called human development index, which is a combination of life expectancy, education, literacy, educational participation, and GDP In 2008, a French economic commission led by Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz called for modifications to GDP with factors such as political freedom, physical safety, and work-life balance

  13. Box: Stocks Versus Flows A stock is often an accumulation of flows over time Examples: Inventory investment is a flow, which accumulates into the stock of inventories Saving is a flow, which accumulates into a person’s wealth

  14. FIGURE 2.1 Stocks Versus Flows

  15. GDP is the total spending on currently produced final goods and services in the economy National income identity: Measuring GDP: The Expenditure Approach Y = C + I + G + NX where Y = GDP = total production (output) C = consumption expenditure I = investment G = gov’t purchases of goods & services NX = net exports = exports - imports

  16. TABLE 2.1 GDP and Its Components, 2009

  17. Consumption Expenditure Total spending for currently produced consumer goods and services Consumption was 70.8% of GDP in 2009 Basic categories: Consumer durables Nondurable goods Services

  18. Investment Spending on currently produced capital goods that are used to produce goods and services over an extended period of time Investment was 11.4% of GDP in 2009 Basic categories: Fixed investment Inventory investment Residential investment

  19. Box: Meaning of the Word Investment For non-economists, an investment normally refers to the purchase of common stocks or bonds For economists, investment spending refers to the purchase of physical assets, such as new machines or new houses—purchases that add to GDP

  20. Government Purchases Spending by the government on currently produced goods and services Government purchases were 20.6% of GDP in 2009 Government consumption includes government purchases for short-lived goods and services like health care and police Government investment includes spending for capital goods like buildings and computers represents Pure government transfers (e.g., Social Security and Medicare) are excluded from G

  21. Net Exports Net exports (or trade balance)are exports minus imports Why subtract imports from GDP? Answer: Spending on imports is included in consumption expenditure, investment, and government purchases, but is not produced in this country

  22. FIGURE 2.2 Expenditure Components of U.S. GDP, 1950-2010

  23. Changes in the Spending Components of GDP Over Time Consumption grew steadily as a share of GDP from 1970 to 2008 Investment is much more volatile than other components of GDP Government purchases have actually remained quite stable at around 20% of GDP Net exports have been negative

  24. Box: An International Comparison of Expenditure Components The United States differ from other countries by having the highest share of GDP going to consumption, the lowest share of investment, and net exports have been negative By contrast, China has the lowest share of consumption, the highest share of investment, and the largest share of net exports

  25. FIGURE 2.3 Shares of Expenditure Components for Different Countries

  26. Measuring GDP: The Income Approach Compensation of employees – wages and salaries of employees, and employee benefits Corporate profits – profits after taxes of corporations Other income – income of the self-employed, royalty income and net interest earned by individuals, etc. Depreciation – the loss of value of capital from wear and tear net domestic product = GDP – depreciation Net factor income – wages, profits, and rent paid to U.S. residents by foreigners minus factor income paid by U.S. residents to foreigners

  27. TABLE 2.2 Income Approach to GDP, 2009

  28. Income Measures National income = Compensation of employees + other income + corporate profits Gross national product (GNP) = national income + depreciation total income earned by U.S. residents Gross domestic product (GDP) = GNP + net factor income domestically produced measure of gross product

  29. Private Disposable Income = GDP + net factor income + transfer payments received from the government + interest payments on government debt – taxes Income Measures (cont’d)

  30. Net Government Income = taxes – transfers – interest payments on government debt Income Measures (cont’d)

  31. Real Versus Nominal GDP A nominal variable is a measure at current market (nominal) prices (e.g., nominal GDP) A real variable is a measure in terms of quantities of actual goods and services (e.g., real GDP)

  32. Real Versus Nominal GDP (cont’d) or Nominal GDP = Price Level ✕ Real GDP

  33. If 2005 is the base year, then real GDP for the year 2010 is: Real GDP in 2012 = (price of apples in 2005 ✕ quantity of apples in 2012) + (price of oranges in 2005 ✕ quantity of oranges in 2012) Real Versus Nominal GDP (cont’d)

  34. Raw data on GDP tends to fall in cold and snowy months Therefore, economic statistics like GDP data are seasonally adjusted to account for regular seasonal fluctuations within a year Real Versus Nominal GDP (cont’d)

  35. Chain-Weighted Measures of Real GDP If prices of some important goods changed dramatically relative to other goods, using a fixed base-year for prices when calculating real GDP can produce misleading results Chain-weighted measures of GDP allow the base year to change continuously

  36. Measuring Inflation Price indexes are measures of the price level Examples: GDP deflator (or implicit price deflator) Personal consumption expenditure deflator Consumer price index

  37. GDP Deflator

  38. PCE Deflator

  39. Consumer Price Index • A measure of the average prices of consumer goods and services, i.e., a cost of living index • Calculated monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics using a basket of thousands of consumer goods and services

  40. Consumer Price Index • If the basket consists of 2 apples and 1 orange, then the CPI for 2010 with a base year of 2005 is:

  41. Policy and Practice: Policy and Overstatements of the Cost of Living • The CPI is used in determining labor contracts and government payments such as Social Security benefits • A study led by Michael Boskin of Stanford University found that increases in the CPI overstate increases in the cost of living by 1% point • Measurements errors in the CPI could have important implications

  42. Inflation Rate • The inflation rate is the % rate of change of the price level over a particular period: • where

  43. FIGURE 2.4 U.S. Inflation Rates with Different Price Indexes, 1950-2010

  44. Percentage Change Method and the Inflation Rate • Because: • We know that:

  45. Percentage Change Method and the Inflation Rate (cont’d) • Because the % change in the price level is the inflation rate, while the % changes in nominal and real GDP are the growth rate:

  46. Measuring Unemployment • The unemployment rate is the percentage of people in the civilian population who want to work but who do not have jobs • The Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies each adult over age 16 into: • Employed • Unemployed • Not in the labor force • Discouraged workers (those who would live to work but have given up looking, and those who have voluntarily left the labor force)

  47. Measuring Unemployment (cont’d)

  48. Measuring Unemployment (cont’d)

  49. FIGURE 2.5 Unemployment in the Adult Civilian Population, 2010

  50. Macroeconomics In The News: Unemployment and Employment • The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports employment and unemployment data using two alternative surveys: the household survey and the survey of business establishments • The two surveys sometimes give a different picture of labor market conditions due to: • The household survey counts workers, while the establishment survey counts jobs • The household survey counts the self-employed as working, while the establishment does not • The establishment survey covers more workers

More Related