Please read the following prompt, which will also reference several articles and videos. In your discussion forum post, you will think critically about the topic described and relate to models and concepts learned in class. Answer all the questions within the prompt. See the rubric below for how posts are evaluated — note quality does not mean quantity! (e.g. posts should be long enough to completely answer all parts of the prompt; this will vary depending on the post). Note that all posts will be private until after the due date when we will make all posts public for viewing within the class.
In lecture, we discussed different measures of aggregate economic activity including the level of gross domestic product, or GDP, and GDP growth. While GDP is one of the most widely used measures of economic activity, it has limitations that may not fully capture how much an economy produces. Some common-cited reasons why GDP is an imperfect measure of economic productivity include the following exclusions:
- Non-Market Activities: GDP focuses primarily on market transactions and excludes non-market activities such as unpaid household work, volunteerism, and the informal economy. This omission can underestimate the overall economic contributions of individuals and communities.
- Income Distribution: GDP does not account for how income is distributed among the population. A high GDP does not necessarily indicate equitable wealth distribution, and disparities in income and wealth can persist even with overall economic growth.
- Environmental Factors: GDP does not account for the depletion of natural resources or the environmental costs associated with economic activities. As a result, it may not accurately reflect the sustainability of economic growth.
- Quality of Life: GDP measures the quantity of goods and services produced but does not measure their quality. It does not consider factors like health, education, leisure time, or overall well-being, providing an incomplete picture of the standard of living.
- Informal Economy: Informal economic activities, which often occur in the shadow economy and are not officially recorded, are not fully captured by GDP. This can lead to an underestimation of the actual economic output.
- Household Debt: GDP does not consider the level of household debt, which can be significant in some economies. High levels of household debt might indicate financial vulnerability even in the presence of a growing GDP.
- Unpaid Work: GDP does not account for the value of unpaid work, such as caregiving and homemaking, which plays a crucial role in supporting economic activities.
- Welfare: GDP measures the quantity of goods and services produced but does not directly measure the welfare or happiness of the population. An increase in GDP does not necessarily translate to an improvement in overall quality of life.
The following videos discuss further GDP as a measure of economic activity and its limitations:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EryTjln7l2g
In addition to these factors, new research also shows how GDP fails to account for the value of many goods and services produced in the digital era. This is because GDP measures the total value of all final goods and services produced within a given economy and is derived using market prices. Therefore, products with a market price of zero, including digital apps and social media, have zero direct contribution to GDP. The following articles provide additional perspectives on this limitation:
https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/how-much-are-search-engines-worth-to-you
https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/how-much-your-favorite-free-app-worth-you
Please read the all articles and watch the videos above on GDP as a measure of economic performance and productivity. Your written discussion post should reference each of these articles and videos, and relate specifically to concepts and models learned in class.
In addition, your post should answer all the following questions:
- How is real GDP actually measured for the U.S. economy?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of using GDP as a measure of economic activity?
- What kind of data is currently excluded in measuring GDP?
- What kind of data do you think should be included in measuring GDP, and why? How would adding in such data improve GDP as a measure of economic production or income?
- Do you think GDP would be higher, lower, or the same using the additional data you propose in (iv)? Explain why.
- What are potential impacts on policy (positive or negative) of using an alternative measure of GDP like what you propose in (iv)?
The following rubric will be used to evaluate responses.
46-50 points: student has a thoughtful written response that references all the articles/videos in the prompt and makes several connections to models and concepts learned in class. The post includes a brief summary of what the student took out of the article and has complete answers to all the questions in the prompt. There is a cohesive understanding about the underlying economic concepts and shows an ability to relate to concepts learned in class.
41-45 points: same as above except the student does not reference all the articles/videos but still has complete answers to questions in the prompt. There is some effort to relate to concepts learned in class.
36-40 points: same as above except the student does not reference all the articles/videos and has partial answers to questions in the prompt. There is some effort to relate to concepts learned in class.
31-35 points: same as above except there is some effort to relate to concepts learned in class but with some misunderstandings about the underlying economic concepts.
1-30 points: same as above except post does not relate or connect the articles/videos with concepts learned in class.
0 points: student does not participate in the discussion forum.