Gross Domestic Product Write Up

Gross Domestic Product is the dollar value of all final goods and services produced within a country’s borders during some period of time (usually a year or a quarter). It is important to understand what GDP can and cannot tell us. You have studied alternative ways to measure GDP, differences between real and nominal GDP, and how we use GDP to measure economic growth. However, economic growth is not synonymous with overall well-being, and even though increases in GDP per capita are often used to indicate positive outcomes for a country, it doesn’t really capture what is happening to general well-being. Create three graphs as directed below and compare and contrast them as you answer the questions.

Create a FRED graph (Graph 1) by following these instructions:

1. Go to https://fred.stlouisfed.org/.

2. Search for “Constant GDP per capita for China” by copying and pasting this series ID: NYGDPPCAPKDCHN into the Search box.

3. After you click on the series and the graph pops up, click on the green button that says “VIEW MAP.” Now, you should see a world map that shows Constant GDP per capita by Nation.

4. Click on “Share Links” on the bottom left of your graph and select “Image Short URL.” Copy the URL that appears in the pop-up window and save it to copy & paste it in your response to the discussion board activity.
Open a new tab and create another FRED graph (Graph 2) by following these instructions:

1. Go to https://fred.stlouisfed.org/.

2. Search for “Life Expectancy at Birth, Total for the for United States” by copying and pasting this series ID: SPDYNLE00INUSA into the Search box.

3. After you click on the series and the graph pops up, click on the green button that says “VIEW MAP.” Now, you should see a world map that shows Life Expectancy at Birth, Total by Nation.

4. Click on “Share Links” on the bottom left of your graph and select “Image Short URL.” Copy the URL that appears in the pop-up window and save it to copy & paste it in your response to the discussion board activity.

Open a new tab and create another FRED graph (Graph 3) by following these instructions:

1. Go to https://fred.stlouisfed.org/.

2. Search for “Infant Mortality Rate for the United States” by copying and pasting this series ID: SPDYNIMRTINUSA into the Search box.

3. After you click on the series and the graph pops up, click on the green button that says “VIEW MAP.” Now, you should see a world map that shows Infant Mortality Rate by Nation.

4. Click on “Share Links” on the bottom left of your graph and select “Image Short URL.” Copy the URL that appears in the pop-up window and save it to copy & paste it in your response to the discussion board activity.

Answer these questions:

What is the URL for the graph you created for Constant GDP per capita by Nation? This is Graph 1 in the questions that follow.

What is the URL for the graph you created for Life Expectancy at Birth, Total by Nation? This is Graph 2 in the questions that follow.

What is the URL for the graph you created Infant Mortality Rate by Nation? This is Graph 3 in the questions that follow.

For Graph 1, what is the highest and the lowest value of the data range? What is the data value for the U.S.? Discuss where it ranks relative to the rest of the countries in the map.

For Graph 2, what is the highest and the lowest value of the data range? What is the data value for the U.S.? Discuss where it ranks relative to the rest of the countries in the map.

For Graph 3, what is the highest and the lowest value of the data range? What is the data value for the U.S.? Discuss where it ranks relative to the rest of the countries in the map.

In what kinds of circumstances would it be better to use GDP and when would it be better to use other quality-of-life measures to make international comparisons? In other words, what are differences between these types of measures and when is one more useful than the other?