1. Measuring a Nation’s Income
Chapter 10
Measuring a Nation’s Income

2. Macroeconomics
Macroeconomics is the study of the economy as a whole. Its goal is to explain the economic changes that affect many households, firms, and markets at once.
Microeconomics is the study of how individual households and firms make decisions and how they interact with one another in markets.

3. Understanding the Economy
Identify the important areas:
Total output (and income)
The average of prices
Resource employment
Measure the important areas using:
Real Gross Domestic Product
Consumer Price Index
Monthly unemployment rate

4. The Circular-Flow Diagram
Product Market $ $
Businesses
Households $ $
Market for Factors of Production

5. Two Methods of Computing An Economy’s Income
Expenditure Approach:
Sum the total expenditures by households (from the top portion of the circular flow).
Resource Cost or Income Approach:
Sum the total wages and profit paid by firms for resources (from the bottom portion of the circular flow).

6. The Economy’s Income and Expenditure
When judging whether the economy is doing well or poorly, it is natural to look at the total income that everyone in the economy is earning.
For an economy as a whole, income must equal expenditure.
The forces of supply and demand determine the market equilibrium price and quantity that is produced and exchanged.

7. The Economy’s Income and Expenditure
A measure of the income and expenditures of an economy is Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Gross Domestic Product measures:
an economy’s total expenditure on newly produced goods and services and the total income earned from the production of these goods and services

8. Gross Domestic Product
The total market value of all final goods and services produced during a given period of time within a country, region, or state.

9. Important Features of GDP
Output is valued at market determined prices.
Output is measured in dollar terms.
GDP records only the output of final goods. We want to “count” production only once.
Represents the amount of money one would need to purchase a year’s worth of the economy’s production of all final goods ($7,000,000,000,000).

10. What Is and What Is Not Counted in GDP?
GDP includes all items produced in the economy and sold legally in markets.
GDP does not include items produced and consumed at home and never enter the marketplace. It does not include items produced and sold illicitly, such as illegal drugs.

11. Gross National Product
The total market value of all final goods and services produced during a given period of time by the nation’s residents, regardless of the place produced.

12. Quick Quiz!
Which contributes more to GDP: the production of a pound of hamburger or the production of a pound of caviar? Why?

13. Three Other Measures of Income
Net National Product (NNP):
Total income of residents of a nation after subtracting capital consumption allowances.
Personal Income:
The income that households and non-corporate businesses receive.
Disposable Personal Income:
The income that household and non-corporate businesses have left after taxes.

14. Y = C + I + G + NX The Components of GDP GDP (Y) is the sum of:
Consumption (C)
Investment (I)
Government Purchases (G)
Net Exports (NX)
Y = C + I + G + NX

15. The Four Components of GDP
Consumption (C):
Is the spending by households on goods and services
e.g. buying clothing, food, movie tickets
Investment (I):
Is the purchases of capital equipment and structures
e.g. factory, houses, etc.

16. The Four Components of GDP
Government Purchases (G):
Includes spending on goods and services by local, state and federal governments (e.g. roads, police, etc.).
Does not include transfer payments, because it is not made in exchange for currently produced goods or services.
Net Exports (NX):
Exports minus imports.

17. GDP Components of Measurement

18. GDP Components of Measurement
Consumption
69 %

19. GDP Components of Measurement
Investment
13%
Consumption
69 %

20. GDP Components of Measurement
Government
Spending
19%
Investment
13%
Consumption
69 %

21. GDP Components of Measurement
Government
Spending
19%
Investment
13%
Net Exports
-1 %
Consumption
69 %

22. The Income Approach Components:
Wages (73.0%)
Interest (9.5%)
Rents (.5%)
Profits (17.0%)
We must also include taxes and depreciation for accurate accounting

23. Quick Quiz! List the four components of expenditure.
Which is the largest?

24. Real versus Nominal GDP
GDP is the market value of the economy’s current production, referred to as Nominal GDP.
Real GDP measures any given year’s total output in “constant” prices.
An accurate view of the economy requires adjusting nominal to real GDP, using the GDP Price Deflator.

25. Our Example of Real vs. Nominal

26. Nominal GDP
Calculated as the sum of Prices in a year times quantities in a year
1999: $1x10+$2x5=$20
2000: $2X10+$4x5=$40
2001: $3x5+$6x10=&75
Question: Is this an accurate measure of how much we produce?
Compare 1999 and 2000 to see!

27. Real GDP
Calculated as sum of base year prices times quantities each year
Let’s make 1999 the base year
1999: $1x10+$2x5=$20
2000: $1x10+$2x5=$20
2001:$1x5+$2x10=$25
Is this a more accurate measure of output?

28. GDP Deflator Just the ratio of nomimal GDP to real GDP times 100
1999:$20/$20 x 100 = 100
This is an index, always 100 for the base year
2000:$40/$20 x 100 = 200
2001:$75/$25 x 100 = 300
What does it mean?

29. (Nominal GDP19xx ) ÷ (GDP deflator19xx)X100
GDP Price Deflator
The GDP Price Deflator is a price index that uses a bundle of all final goods and services.
It tells us the rise in nominal GDP that is attributable to a rise in prices.
Converting Nominal GDP to Real GDP:
Real GDP19xx =
(Nominal GDP19xx ) ÷ (GDP deflator19xx)X100

30. Quick Quiz! Define Real and Nominal GDP.
Which is a better measure of economic well-being? Why?

31. GDP and Economic Well-Being
GDP Per Person tells us the income and expenditure of the average person in the economy.
It is a good measure of the material well-being of the economy as a whole.
More Real GDP means we have a higher material standard of living by being able to consume more goods and services.
It is NOT intended to be a measure of happiness or quality of life.

32. GDP and Economic Well-Being
Some factors and issues not in GDP that lead to the “well-being” of the economy:
Factors that contribute to a good life such as leisure.
Factors that lead to a quality environment.
The value of almost all activity that takes place outside of the markets, e.g. volunteer work and child-rearing.