You are on page 1of 12

Chapter 24 - Measuring Domestic Output and National Income

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
MEASURING DOMESTIC OUTPUT AND NATIONAL INCOME

CHAPTER OVERVIEW
News headlines frequently report the status of the nation’s economic conditions, but to many citizens the
information is confusing or incomprehensible. This chapter acquaints students with the basic language
of macroeconomics and national income accounting. GDP is defined and explained. Then, the
differences between the expenditure and income approaches to determining GDP are discussed and
analyzed in terms of their component parts. The income and expenditure approaches are developed
gradually from the basic expenditure-income identity, through tables and figures.
The importance of investment is given considerable emphasis, including the nature of investment, the
distinction between gross and net investment, the role of inventory changes, and the impact of net
investment on economic growth. On the income side, nonincome charges—consumption of fixed capital
(depreciation) and taxes on production and imports—are covered in detail because these usually give
students the most trouble.
Other measures of economic activity are defined and discussed, with special emphasis on using price
indexes. The purpose and procedure of deflating and inflating nominal GDP are carefully explained and
illustrated. Finally, the shortcomings of current GDP measurement techniques are examined. Global
comparisons are made with respect to size of national GDP and size of the underground economy.
The Last Word looks at the sources of data for the GDP accounts.

I. Assessing the Economy’s Performance


A. National income accounting measures the economy’s performance by measuring the flows of
income and expenditures over a period of time.
B. National income accounts serve a similar purpose for the economy, as do income statements
for business firms.
C. Consistent definition of terms and measurement techniques allows us to use the national
accounts in comparing conditions over time and across countries.
D. The national income accounts provide a basis for of appropriate public policies to improve
economic performance.
II. Gross Domestic Product
A. GDP is the monetary measure of the total market value of all final goods and services
produced within a country in one year.
1. Money valuation allows the summing of apples and oranges; money acts as the common
denominator. (See Table 24.1.)
2. GDP includes only final products and services; it avoids double or multiple counting, by
eliminating any intermediate goods used in production of these final goods or services.
(Table 24.2 illustrates how including sales of intermediate goods would overstate GDP.)
3. GDP is the value of what has been produced in the economy over the year, not what was
actually sold.

92
Chapter 24 - Measuring Domestic Output and National Income

B. GDP Excludes Nonproduction Transactions


1. GDP is designed to measure what is produced or created over the current time period.
Existing assets or property that sold or transferred, including used items, are not counted.
2. Purely financial transactions are excluded.
a. Public transfer payments, like social security or cash welfare benefits.
b. Private transfer payments, like student allowances or alimony payments.
c. The sale of stocks and bonds represent a transfer of existing assets. (However, the
brokers’ fees are included for services rendered.)
3. Secondhand sales are excluded, they do not represent current output. (However, any value
added between purchase and resale is included, e.g. used car dealers.)
C. Two Ways to Look at GDP: Spending and Income.
1. What is spent on a product is income to those who helped to produce and sell it.
2. This is an important identity and the foundation of the national accounting process.
D. Expenditures Approach (See Figure 24.1 and Table 24.3)
1. GDP is divided into the categories of buyers in the market; household consumers,
businesses, government, and foreign buyers.
2. Personal Consumption Expenditures—(C)—includes durable goods (lasting 3 years or
more), nondurable goods and services.
3. Gross Private Domestic Investment—(Ig)
a. All final purchases of machinery, equipment, and tools by businesses.
b. All construction (including residential).
c. Changes in business inventory.
i. If total output exceeds current sales, inventories build up.
ii. If businesses are able to sell more than they currently produce, this entry will be a
negative number.
d. Noninvestment transactions – despite how the term “investment” is used by the general
public, investment does not include transfers of ownership of paper assets (stocks and
bonds) or real assets (houses, jewelry, art). Only newly created capital is counted as
investment.
e. Net Private Domestic Investment—(In).
i. Each year as current output is being produced, existing capital equipment is
wearing out and buildings are deteriorating; this is called depreciation or
consumption of fixed capital.
ii. Gross Investment minus depreciation (consumption of fixed capital) is called net
investment.
iii. If more new structures and capital equipment are produced in a given year than
are used up, the productive capacity of the economy will expand. (Figure 24.2)
iv. When gross investment and depreciation are equal, a nation’s productive capacity
is static.

93
Chapter 24 - Measuring Domestic Output and National Income

v. When gross investment is less than depreciation, an economy’s production


capacity declines.
vi. CONSIDER THIS … Stock Answers about Flows
4. Government Purchases (of consumption goods and capital goods) – (G)
a. Includes spending by all levels of government (federal, state and local).
b. Includes all direct purchases of resources (labor in particular).
c. This entry excludes transfer payments since these outlays do not reflect current
production.
5. Net Exports—(Xn)
a. All spending on final goods produced in the U.S. must be included in GDP, whether
the purchase is made here or abroad.
b. Often goods purchased and measured in the U.S. are produced elsewhere (Imports).
c. Therefore, net exports, (Xn) is the difference: (exports minus imports) and can be
either a positive or negative number depending on which is the larger amount.
6. Summary: GDP = C + Ig + G + Xn
E. Income Approach to GDP (See Table 24.3): Demonstrates how the expenditures on final
products are allocated to resource suppliers.
1. Compensation of employees includes wages, salaries, fringe benefits, salary and
supplements, and payments made on behalf of workers like social security and other health
and pension plans.
2. Rents: payments for supplying property resources (adjusted for depreciation it is net rent).
3. Interest: payments from private business to suppliers of money capital.
4. Proprietors’ income: income of incorporated businesses, sole proprietorships,
partnerships, and cooperatives.
5. Corporate profits: After corporate income taxes are paid to government, dividends are
distributed to the shareholders, and the remainder is left as undistributed corporate profits
(also referred to as retained earnings).
6. Taxes on production and imports: general sales taxes, excise taxes, business property
taxes, license fees, and customs duties.
7. The sum of the above entries equals national income: all income earned by American
supplied resources, whether here or abroad, plus taxes on production and imports.
8. Adjustments required to balance both sides of the account:
a. Net foreign factor income: National income measures the income of Americans both
here and abroad. GDP measures the output of the geographical U.S. regardless of the
nationality of the contributors. Net foreign factor income measures American income
earned abroad minus the income of foreign nationals producing in the U.S. To make
the final adjustment from national income to GDP (thereby only measuring what is
produced within U.S. borders), net foreign factor income must be subtracted from
national income. This removes the income earned by Americans outside the borders,
but adds in what foreign workers produced on U.S. soil. Sometimes net foreign factor
income is negative, making the net contribution to GDP positive. (Without this
adjustment you have GNP.)

94
Chapter 24 - Measuring Domestic Output and National Income

b. Statistical discrepancy: NIPA accountants add a statistical discrepancy to national


income to equalize the income and expenditures approaches ($29 billion in 2007).
c. Depreciation/Consumption of Fixed Capital: The firm also regards the decline of its
capital stock as a cost of production. The depreciation allowance is set aside to
replace the machinery and equipment used up. In addition to the depreciation of
private capital, public capital (government buildings, port facilities, etc.), must be
included in this entry.
IV. Other National Accounts (see Table 24.4)
A. Net domestic product (NDP) is equal to GDP minus depreciation allowance (consumption of
fixed capital).
B. National income (NI) is income earned by American-owned resources here or abroad. Adjust
NDP by adding net foreign factor income. (Note: This may be a negative number if foreigners
earned more in U.S. than American resources earned abroad.)
C. Personal income (PI) is income received by households. To calculate, take NI minus payroll
taxes (social security contributions), minus corporate profits taxes, minus undistributed
corporate profits, and add transfer payments.
D. Disposable income (DI) is personal income less personal taxes.
V. Circular Flow Revisited (see Figure 24.3)
A. Compare to the simpler model presented in earlier chapters. Now both government and foreign
trade sectors are added.
B. Note that the inside covers of the text contain a useful historical summary of national income
accounts and related statistics.
VI. Nominal versus Real GDP
A. Nominal GDP is the market value of all final goods and services produced in a year.
1. GDP is a (P x Q) figure including every item produced in the economy. Money is the
common denominator that allows us to sum the total output.
2. To measure changes in the quantity of output, we need a yardstick that stays the same size.
To make comparisons of length, a yard must remain 36 inches. To make comparisons of
real output, a dollar must keep the same purchasing power.
3. Nominal GDP is calculated using the current prices prevailing when the output was
produced but real GDP is a figure that has been adjusted for price level changes.
B. The adjustment process in a one-good economy (Table 24.5). Valid comparisons cannot be
made with nominal GDP alone, since both prices and quantities are subject to change. Some
method to separate the two effects must be devised.
1. One method is to first determine a price index, (see equation 1) and then adjust the nominal
GDP figures by dividing by the price index (in hundredths) (see equation 2).
2. An alternative method is to gather separate data on the quantity of physical output and
determine what it would sell for in the base year. The result is Real GDP. The price index
is implied in the ratio: Nominal GDP/Real GDP. Multiply by 100 to put it in standard
index form.
C. Real World Considerations and Data
1. The actual GDP price index in the U.S. is called the chain-type annual-weights price
index, and is more complex than can be illustrated here.

95
Chapter 24 - Measuring Domestic Output and National Income

2. Once nominal GDP and the GDP price index are established, the relationship between them
and real GDP is clear (see Table 24.7).
3. The base year price index is always 100, since Nominal GDP and Real GDP use the same
prices. Because the long-term trend has been for prices to rise, adjusting Nominal GDP to
Real GDP involves inflating the lower prices before the base year and deflating the higher
prices after the base year.
4. Real GDP values allow more direct comparison of physical output from one year to the
next, because a “constant dollar” measuring device has been used. (The purchasing power
of the dollar has been standardized at the base year level -- currently 2000.)
VII. Shortcomings of GDP
A. GDP doesn’t measure some very useful output because it is unpaid (homemakers’ services,
parental child care, volunteer efforts, home improvement projects).
B. GDP doesn’t measure improved living conditions as a result of more leisure.
C. GDP does not measure improvements in product quality or make allowances for increased
leisure time.
D. The Underground Economy
1. Illegal activities are not counted in GDP (estimated to be around 8% of U.S. GDP).
2. Legal economic activity may also be part of the “underground,” usually in an effort to
avoid taxation.
E. GDP and the environment.
1. The harmful effects of pollution are not deducted from GDP (oil spills, increased incidence
of cancer, destruction of habitat for wildlife, the loss of a clear unobstructed view).
2. GDP does include payments made for cleaning up the oil spills, and the cost of health care
for the cancer victim.
F. GDP makes no value adjustments for changes in the composition of output or the distribution
of income.
1. Nominal GDP simply adds the dollar value of what is produced; it makes no difference if
the product is a semi-automatic rifle or a jar of baby food.
2. Per capita GDP may give some hint as to the relative standard of living in the economy;
but GDP figures do not provide information about how the income is distributed.
G. Noneconomic Sources of Well-Being like courtesy, crime reduction, etc., are not covered in
GDP.
VIII. LAST WORD: Magical Mystery Tour
A. GDP is compiled by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) in U.S. Commerce Department.
Where does it get its data? Explanation follows.
B. Consumption data comes from:
1. Census Bureau’s “Retain Trade Survey” from sample of 22,000 firms.
2. Census Bureau’s “Survey of Manufacturers,” which gets information on consumer goods
shipments from 50,000 firms.
3. Census Bureau’s “Service Survey” of 30,000 service businesses.
4. Industry trade sources like auto and aircraft sales.

96
Chapter 24 - Measuring Domestic Output and National Income

C. Investment data comes from:


1. All the consumption sources listed above.
2. Census construction surveys.
D. Government purchase data is obtained from:
1. U.S. Office of Personnel Management, which collects data on wages and benefits.
2. Census construction surveys of public projects.
3. Census Bureau’s “Survey of Government Finance.”
E. Net export information comes from:
1. U.S. Customs Service data on exports and imports.
2. BEA surveys on service exports and imports.

ANSWERS TO END-OF-CHAPTER QUESTIONS


24-1 In what ways are national income statistics useful?
National income accounting does for the economy as a whole what private accounting does for
businesses. Firms measure income and expenditures to assess their economic health.
The national income accounting system measures the level of production in the economy at some
particular time and helps explain that level. By comparing national accounts over a number of
years, we can track the long-run course of the economy. Information supplied by national accounts
provide a basis for designing and applying public policies to improve the performance of the
economy. Without national accounts, economic policy would be guesswork. National income
accounting allows us to assess the health of an economy and formulate policies to maintain and
improve that health.
24-2 Explain why an economy’s output, in essence, is also its income?
Everything that is produced is sold, even if the “selling,” in the case of inventory, is to the
producing firm itself. Since the same amount of money paid out by the buyers of the economy’s
output is received by the sellers as income (looking only at a private-sector economy at this point),
“an economy’s output is also its income.”
24-3 (Key Question) Why do economists include only final goods in measuring GDP for a particular
year? Why don’t they include the value of stocks and bonds sold? Why don’t they include the
value of used furniture bought and sold?
The dollar value of final goods includes the dollar value of intermediate goods. If intermediate
goods were counted, then multiple counting would occur. The value of steel (intermediate good)
used in autos is included in the price of the auto (the final product).
This value is not included in GDP because such sales and purchases simply transfer the ownership
of existing assets; such sales and purchases are not themselves (economic) investment and thus
should not be counted as production of final goods and services.
Used furniture was produced in some previous year; it was counted as GDP then. Its resale does
not measure new production.
24-4 What is the difference between gross private domestic investment and net private domestic
investment? If you were to determine net domestic product (NDP) through the expenditures
approach, which of these two measures of investment spending would be appropriate? Explain.

97
Chapter 24 - Measuring Domestic Output and National Income

Gross private domestic investment less depreciation is net private domestic investment.
Depreciation is the value of all the physical capital—machines, equipment, buildings—used up in
producing the year’s output.
Since net domestic product is gross domestic product less depreciation, in determining net domestic
product through the expenditures approach it would be appropriate to use the net investment
measure that excludes depreciation, that is, net private domestic investment.
24-5 Why are changes in inventories included as part of investment spending? Suppose inventories
declined by $1 billion during 2008. How would this affect the size of gross private domestic
investment and gross domestic product in 2008? Explain.
Anything produced by business that has not been sold during the accounting period is something in
which business has invested—even if the “investment” is involuntary, as often is the case with
inventories. But all inventories in the hands of business are expected eventually to be used by
business—for instance, a pile of bricks for extending a factory building—or to be sold—for
instance, a can of beans on the supermarket shelf. In the hands of business both the bricks and the
beans are equally assets to the business, something in which business has invested.
If inventories declined by $1 billion in 2008, $1 billion would be subtracted from both gross
private domestic investment and gross domestic product. A decline in inventories indicates that
goods produced in a previous year have been used up in this year’s production. If $1 billion is not
subtracted as stated, then $1 billion of goods produced in a previous year would be counted as
having been produced in 2008, leading to an overstatement of 2008’s production.
24-6 Use the concepts of gross and net investment to distinguish between an economy that has a rising
stock of capital and one that has a falling stock of capital. “In 1933 net private domestic
investment was minus $6 billion. This means that in that particular year the economy produced no
capital goods at all.” Do you agree? Why or why not? Explain: “Though net investment can be
positive, negative, or zero, it is quite impossible for gross investment to be less than zero.”
When gross investment exceeds depreciation, net investment is positive and production capacity
expands; the economy ends the year with more physical capital than it started with. When gross
investment equals depreciation, net investment is zero and production capacity is said to be static;
the economy ends the year with the same amount of physical capital. When depreciation exceeds
gross investment, net investment is negative and production capacity declines; the economy ends
the year with less physical capital.
The first statement in wrong. Just because net investment was a minus $6 billion in 1933 does not
mean the economy produced no new capital goods in that year. It simply means depreciation
exceeded gross investment by $6 billion. So the economy ended the year with $6 billion less
capital.
The second statement is correct. If only one $20 spade is bought by a construction firm in the
entire economy in a year and no other physical capital is bought, then gross investment is $20—a
positive amount. This is true even if net investment is highly negative because depreciation is well
above $20. If not even this $20 spade has been bought, then gross investment would have been
zero. But gross investment can never be less than zero.
24-7 Define net exports. Explain how the United States’ exports and imports each affects domestic
production. Suppose foreigners spend $7 billion on American exports in a given year and
Americans spend $5 billion on imports from abroad in the same year. What is the amount of
America’s net exports? Explain how net exports might be a negative amount.
Net exports are a country’s exports of goods and services less its imports of goods and services.
The United States’ exports are as much a part of the nation’s production as are the expenditures of
its own consumers on goods and services made in the United States. Therefore, the United States’
exports must be counted as part of GDP. On the other hand, imports, being produced in foreign

98
Chapter 24 - Measuring Domestic Output and National Income

countries, are part of those countries’ GDPs. When Americans buy imports, these expenditures
must be subtracted from the United States’ GDP, for these expenditures are not made on the United
States’ production.
If American exports are $7 billion and imports are $5 billion, then American net exports are +$2
billion. If the figures are reversed, so that Americans export $5 billion and import $7 billion, then
net exports are -$2 billion—a negative amount. For this to come about, Americans must either
decrease their holdings of foreign currencies by $2 billion, or borrow $2 billion from foreigners—
or do a bit of both. (Another option is to sell back to foreigners some of the previous American
investments abroad.)
24-8 (Key Question) Below is a list of domestic output and national income figures for a given year.
All figures are in billions. The questions that follow ask you to determine the major national
income measures by both the expenditure and income methods. The results you obtain with the
different methods should be the same.

Personal consumption expenditures $245


Net foreign factor income 4
Transfer payments 12
Rents 14
Statistical discrepancy 8
Consumption of fixed capital (depreciation) 27
Social security contributions 20
Interest 13
Proprietors’ income 33
Net exports 11
Dividends 16
Compensation of employees 223
Taxes on production and imports 18
Undistributed corporate profits 21
Personal taxes 26
Corporate income taxes 19
Corporate profits 56
Government purchases 72
Net private domestic investment 33
Personal saving 20

a. Using the above data, determine GDP by both the expenditure and the income approaches.
Then determine NDP.
b. Now determine NI: first, by making the required additions and subtractions from GDP; and
second, by adding up the types of income and taxes that make up NI.

99
Chapter 24 - Measuring Domestic Output and National Income

c. Adjust NI (from part b) as required to obtain PI.


d. Adjust PI (from part c) as required to obtain DI.
(a) GDP = $388, NDP = $361;
(b) NI = $357;
(c) PI = $291;
(d) DI = $265.
24-9 Using the following national income accounting data, compute (a) GDP, (b) NDP, and (c) NI. All
figures are in billions.

Compensation of employees $194.2


U.S. exports of goods and services 17.8
Consumption of fixed capital (depreciation) 11.8
Government purchases 59.4
Taxes on production and imports 14.4
Net private domestic investment 52.1
Transfer payments 13.9
U.S. imports of goods and services 16.5
Personal taxes 40.5
Net foreign factor income 2.2
Personal consumption expenditures 219.1
Statistical discrepancy 0

10
Chapter 24 - Measuring Domestic Output and National Income

(a) Personal consumption expenditures (C) $219.1


Government purchases (G) 59.4
Gross private domestic investment (Ig) 63.9
(52.1 + 11.8)
Net exports (Xn) (17.8 – 16.5) 1.3
Gross domestic product (GDP) $343.7

(b) Consumption of fixed capital -11.8


Net domestic product (NDP) $331.9

(c) Net foreign factor income earned in U.S. 2.2


Taxes of production and imports -14.4
National income (NI) $319.7

24-10 Why do national income accountants compare the market value of the total outputs in various
years rather than actual physical volumes of production? What problem is posed by any
comparison over time of the market values of various total outputs? How is this problem resolved?
If it is impossible to summarize oranges and apples as one statistic, as the saying goes, it is surely
even more impossible to add oranges and, say, computers. If the production of oranges increases
by 100 percent and that of computers by 10 percent, it does not make any sense to add the 100
percent to the 10 percent, then divide by 2 to get the average and say total production has increased
by 55 percent.
Since oranges and computers have different values, the quantities of each commodity are multiplied
by their values or prices. Adding together all the results of the price times quantity figures leads to
the aggregate figure showing the total value of all the final goods and services produced in the
economy. Thus, to return to oranges and computers, if the value of orange production increases by
100 percent from $100 million to $200 million, while that of computers increases 10 percent from
$2 billion to $2.2 billion, we can see that total production has increased from $2.1 billion (= $100
million + $2 billion) to $2.4 billion (= $200 million + $2.2 billion). This is an increase of 14.29
percent [= ($2.4 billion - $2.1 billion)/$2.1 billion)]—and not the 55 percent incorrectly derived
earlier.
Comparing market values over time has the disadvantage that prices change. If the market value in
year 2 is 10 percent greater than in year 1, we cannot say the economy’s production has increased
10 percent. It depends on what has been happening to prices; on whether the economy has been
experiencing inflation or deflation.
To resolve this problem, statisticians deflate (in the case of inflation) or inflate (in the case of
deflation) the value figures for the total output so that only “real” changes in production are
recorded. To do this, each item is assigned a “weight” corresponding to its relative importance in
the economy. Housing, for example, is given a high weight because of its importance in the
average budget. A book of matches would be given a very low weight. Thus, the price of housing
increasing by 5 percent has a much greater effect on the price index used to compare prices from
one year to the next, than would the price of a book of matches increasing by 100 percent.
24-11 (Key Question) Suppose that in 1984 the total output in a single-good economy was 7,000 buckets
of chicken. Also suppose that in 1984 each bucket of chicken was priced at $10. Finally, assume
that in 2000 the price per bucket of chicken was $16 and that 22,000 buckets were purchased.
Determine the GDP price index for 1984, using 2000 as the base year. By what percentage did the
price level, as measured by this index, rise between 1984 and 2000? Use the two methods listed in
Table 24.6 to determine real GDP for 1984 and 2000.

10
Chapter 24 - Measuring Domestic Output and National Income

X/100 = $10/$16 = .625 or 62.5 when put in percentage or index form (.625 x 100)
100  62.5 16  10 6
 .60 or 60% (Easily calculated   .6  60% )
62.5 10 10
Method 1: 2000 = (22,000 x $16) ÷ 1.0 = $352,000
1984 = (7,000 x $10) ÷ .625 = $112,000
Method 2: 2000 = 22,000 x $16 = $352,000
1984 = 7,000 x $16 = $112,000
24-12 (Key Question) The following table shows nominal GDP and an appropriate price index for a
group of selected years. Compute real GDP. Indicate in each calculation whether you are inflating
or deflating the nominal GDP data.

Nominal GDP, Price index Real GDP,


Year Billions (2000 = 100) Billions

1964 $663.6 22.13 $ ______


1974 1500.0 34.73 $ ______
1984 3933.2 67.66 $ ______
1994 7072.2 90.26 $ ______
2004 11734.3 109.10 $ ______

Values for real GDP, top to bottom of the column: $2,998.6 (inflating); $4,319.0 (inflating);
$5,813.2 (inflating); $7,835.4 (inflating); $10,755.5 (deflating).

24-13 Which of the following are included in this year’s GDP? Explain your answer in each case.
a. Interest on an AT&T corporate bond.
b. Social security payments received by a retired factory worker.
c. The unpaid services of a family member in painting the family home.
d. The income of a dentist.
e. The money received by Smith when she sells her economics textbook to a book buyer.
f. The monthly allowance a college student receives from home.
g. Rent received on a two-bedroom apartment.
h. The money received by Josh when he resells his current-year-model Honda automobile to Kim.
i. The publication of a college textbook.
j. A 2-hour decrease in the length of the workweek.
k. The purchase of an AT&T corporate bond.
l. A $2 billion increase in business inventories.

10
Chapter 24 - Measuring Domestic Output and National Income

m. The purchase of 100 shares of GM common stock.


n. The purchase of an insurance policy.
(a) Included. Income received by the bondholder for the services derived by the corporation for
the loan of money.
(b) Excluded. A transfer payment from taxpayers for which no service is rendered (in this year).
(c) Excluded. Nonmarket production.
(d) Included. Payment for a final service. You cannot pass on a tooth extraction!
(e) Excluded. Secondhand sales are not counted; the textbook is counted only when sold for the
first time.
(f) Excluded. A private transfer payment; simply a transfer of income from one private individual
to another for which no transaction in the market occurs.
(g) Included. Payment for the final service of housing.
(h) Excluded. The production of the car had already been counted at the time of the initial sale.
(i) Included. It is a new good produced for final consumption.
(j) Excluded. The effect of the decline will be counted, but the change in the workweek itself is
not the production of a final good or service or a payment for work done.
(k) Excluded. A non-investment transaction; it is merely the transfer of ownership of financial
assets. (If AT&T uses the money from the sale of a new bond to carry out an investment in
real physical assets, then that will be counted.)
(l) Included. The increase in inventories could only occur as a result of increased production.
(m) Excluded. Merely the transfer of ownership of existing financial assets.
(n) Included. Insurance is a final service. If bought by a household, it will be shown as
consumption; if bought by a business, as investment—as a cost added to its real investment in
physical capital.
24-14 (Last Word) What government agency compiles the U.S. NIPA tables? In what U.S. department
is it located? Of the several specific sources of information, name one source for each of the
four components of GDP: consumption, investment, government purchases and net exports.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) in the Department of Commerce compiles GDP
statistics.
The Census Bureau provides survey data for consumption, investment, and government purchases.
Consumption figures also come from industry trade sources as does some investment data. The
U.S. Office of Personnel Management also provides data on government spending on services.
Net export figures come from the U.S. Customs Service and BEA surveys on service exports and
imports.

10

You might also like