GDP quantifies the monetary worth of final goods and services produced in a country over a specific period of time, i.e. those that are purchased by the end user (say a quarter or a year).
What does GDP stand for, and why is it calculated?
The Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, is one of the most important indicators of an economy’s health. It’s a way of measuring – or attempting to measure – all of a company’s, government’s, and individual’s activity in a given economy.
What does GDP measure and what does it not?
In reality, “GDP counts everything but that which makes life meaningful,” as Senator Robert F. Kennedy memorably stated. Health, education, equality of opportunity, the state of the environment, and many other measures of quality of life are not included in the number. It does not even assess critical features of the economy, such as its long-term viability, or whether it is on the verge of collapsing. What we measure, however, is important because it directs our actions. The military’s emphasis on “body counts,” or the weekly calculation of the number of enemy soldiers killed, gave Americans a hint of this causal link during the Vietnam War. The US military’s reliance on this morbid statistic led them to conduct operations with no other goal than to increase the body count. The focus on corpse numbers, like a drunk seeking for his keys under a lamppost (because that’s where the light is), blinded us to the greater picture: the massacre was enticing more Vietnamese citizens to join the Viet Cong than American forces were killing.
Now, a different corpse count, COVID-19, is proving to be an alarmingly accurate indicator of society performance. There isn’t much of a link between it and GDP. With a GDP of more than $20 trillion in 2019, the United States is the world’s richest country, implying that we have a highly efficient economic engine, a race vehicle that can outperform any other. However, the United States has had almost 600,000 deaths, but Vietnam, with a GDP of $262 billion (and only 4% of the United States’ GDP per capita), has had less than 500 to far. This less fortunate country has easily defeated us in the fight to save lives.
In fact, the American economy resembles a car whose owner saved money by removing the spare tire, which worked fine until he got a flat. And what I call “GDP thinking”the mistaken belief that increasing GDP will improve well-being on its owngot us into this mess. In the near term, an economy that uses its resources more efficiently has a greater GDP in that quarter or year. At a microeconomic level, attempting to maximize that macroeconomic measure translates to each business decreasing costs in order to obtain the maximum possible short-term profits. However, such a myopic emphasis inevitably jeopardizes the economy’s and society’s long-term performance.
The health-care industry in the United States, for example, took pleasure in efficiently using hospital beds: no bed was left empty. As a result, when SARS-CoV-2 arrived in the United States, there were only 2.8 hospital beds per 1,000 people, significantly fewer than in other sophisticated countries, and the system was unable to cope with the rapid influx of patients. In the short run, doing without paid sick leave in meat-packing facilities improved earnings, which raised GDP. Workers, on the other hand, couldn’t afford to stay at home when they were sick, so they went to work and spread the sickness. Similarly, because China could produce protective masks at a lower cost than the US, importing them enhanced economic efficiency and GDP. However, when the epidemic struck and China required considerably more masks than usual, hospital professionals in the United States were unable to meet the demand. To summarize, the constant pursuit of short-term GDP maximization harmed health care, increased financial and physical insecurity, and weakened economic sustainability and resilience, making Americans more exposed to shocks than inhabitants of other countries.
In the 2000s, the shallowness of GDP thinking had already been apparent. Following the success of the United States in raising GDP in previous decades, European economists encouraged their leaders to adopt American-style economic strategies. However, as symptoms of trouble in the US banking system grew in 2007, France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy learned that any leader who was solely focused on increasing GDP at the expense of other indices of quality of life risked losing the public’s trust. He asked me to chair an international commission on measuring economic performance and social progress in January 2008. How can countries improve their metrics, according to a panel of experts? Sarkozy reasoned that determining what made life valuable was a necessary first step toward improving it.
Our first report, provocatively titled Mismeasuring Our Lives: Why GDP Doesn’t Add Up, was published in 2009, just after the global financial crisis highlighted the need to reassess economic orthodoxy’s key premises. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a think tank that serves 38 advanced countries, decided to follow up with an expert panel after it received such excellent feedback. We confirmed and enlarged our original judgment after six years of dialogue and deliberation: GDP should be dethroned. Instead, each country should choose a “dashboard”a collection of criteria that will guide it toward the future that its citizens desire. The dashboard would include measures for health, sustainability, and any other values that the people of a nation aspired to, as well as inequality, insecurity, and other ills that they intended to reduce, in addition to GDP as a measure of market activity (and no more).
These publications have aided in the formation of a global movement toward improved social and economic indicators. The OECD has adopted the method in its Better Life Initiative, which recommends 11 indicators and gives individuals a way to assess them in relation to other countries to create an index that measures their performance on the issues that matter to them. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), both long-time proponents of GDP thinking, are now paying more attention to the environment, inequality, and the economy’s long-term viability.
This method has even been adopted into the policy-making frameworks of a few countries. In 2019, New Zealand, for example, incorporated “well-being” measures into the country’s budgeting process. “Success is about making New Zealand both a terrific location to make a livelihood and a fantastic place to create a life,” said Grant Robertson, the country’s finance minister. This focus on happiness may have contributed to the country’s victory over COVID-19, which appears to have been contained to around 3,000 cases and 26 deaths in a population of over five million people.
Why is GDP the best metric?
Because it represents a representation of economic activity and development, GDP is a crucial metric for economists and investors. Economic growth and production have a significant impact on practically everyone in a particular economy. When the economy is thriving, unemployment is normally lower, and salaries tend to rise as businesses recruit more workers to fulfill the economy’s expanding demand.
Is the GDP a reliable economic indicator?
GDP is a good indicator of an economy’s size, and the GDP growth rate is perhaps the best indicator of economic growth, while GDP per capita has a strong link to the trend in living standards over time.
Does the GDP account for both income and expenditures?
- The monetary worth of all finished goods and services produced inside a country during a certain period is known as the gross domestic product (GDP).
- GDP is a measure of a country’s economic health that is used to estimate its size and rate of growth.
- GDP can be computed in three different ways: expenditures, production, and income. To provide further information, it can be adjusted for inflation and population.
- Despite its shortcomings, GDP is an important tool for policymakers, investors, and corporations to use when making strategic decisions.
Why is GDP such a poor indicator of happiness?
GDP is a rough indicator of a society’s standard of living because it does not account for leisure, environmental quality, levels of health and education, activities undertaken outside the market, changes in income disparity, improvements in diversity, increases in technology, or the cost of living.
Why is GDP not a reliable indicator of economic growth?
GDP is a monetary value; it is the “total money worth of all final goods and services produced in an economy in one year.” As a result, it does not take into account any social indicators, and so does not measure the well-being of a society. GDP is claimed to be an inaccurate measure because it is a quantitative number that ignores social indications. GDP is argued to be an inaccurate measure because society is much more than the sum of all economic activity.
How is the business cycle assessed by GDP?
The business cycle model depicts how a country’s real GDP changes over time, passing through several phases as aggregate output rises and falls. In a rising economy, the business cycle indicates a constant growth in potential output over time.
What effect does GDP have on the stock market?
A country’s GDP measures both its economic growth and its residents’ purchasing power. As a result, the growth of India’s GDP will affect the success of your investment portfolio. We’ll learn what GDP is, how it’s calculated, and how a change in GDP affects your financial portfolio in this post. Let’s start with the fundamentals.
What is GDP?
A country’s GDP, or Gross Domestic Product, is the total value of products and services generated over a given time period. GDP statistics is calculated in India for each financial year, which runs from April 1 to March 31. The information is published on a quarterly and annual basis.
GDP statistics is a measure of a country’s economic health. A high rate of GDP growth suggests that the economy is growing and doing well. A negative GDP growth rate, on the other hand, implies that the economy has contracted and is not in good shape.
To address the expanding needs of the enormous population in a developing economy like India, a high GDP growth rate is essential. We can do so by investing heavily in infrastructure such as roads, railways, healthcare, and education, among other things.
How is GDP calculated in India?
The National Accounts Division (NAD), which is part of the Central Statistical Office in India, compiles and prepares GDP data (CSO). The GDP statistics is released by the CSO, which is part of the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MoSPI).
Expenditure method
The expenditure-based method shows how the Indian economy’s various sectors are performing.
- The amount spent by households on goods and services is referred to as private consumption.
- The term “gross investment” refers to the amount of money spent on capital goods by the private sector.
- Government spending refers to how much money the government spends on things like paying employees’ salaries, pensions, subsidies, and running social programs, among other things.
Value Addition Method
India also uses the Gross Value Addition (GVA) Method or Value Addition Method to calculate GDP. As it goes through the supply chain, each sector of the economy adds value. The GVA approach calculates GDP by taking into consideration the following eight sectors:
The nominal GDP is calculated first when computing GDP. After that, it’s corrected for inflation, and the real GDP is calculated.
India’s GDP in the last few quarters
India’s quarterly GDP data for the last three years is depicted in the figure above. Positive increase was seen in the first quarter of 2020. Following that, COVID-19 struck, resulting in two quarters of negative growth. The Indian economy recovered from the pandemic’s effects in the fourth quarter of 2020, growing at a rate of 1.6 percent.
India’s GDP growth over the last decade
From 2012 to 2016, India’s GDP grew at a faster rate every year, as shown in the graph above. However, beginning in 2017, growth began to decline until 2019. COVID-19’s impact at the start of 2020 exacerbated the situation.
How a change in GDP affects your investment portfolio
Stock markets are directly associated with a country’s GDP, according to the general rule. India is no different. Because markets and GDP are intimately interrelated, your investment portfolio is also directly correlated with GDP.
- The stock markets will be energized by a positive shift in the GDP (a higher GDP growth number), and the market will rise as a result. If the stock market rises, it will have a beneficial impact on your investment portfolio.
- A negative change in the GDP (a lower GDP growth statistic or a GDP contraction) will undoubtedly cause the financial markets to react negatively. As a result, the stock market will fall. If the stock market falls, it will have a negative influence on your investment portfolio.
There is a positive association between India’s GDP growth and the NIFTY 50 Index, as shown in the graph above:
- India’s GDP expanded at an annual pace of roughly 8% from 2004 to 2008. During this time, the NIFTY 50 Index climbed from 2000 to 4000 points. During this time, your investment portfolio should have done well.
- The subprime mortgage crisis hit the United States in 2008-2009, with global ramifications. During this time, India’s GDP growth slowed from 8% to roughly 3%, and the NIFTY 50 Index dropped from highs of 4000 to lows of 3000. During this time, it would have had a detrimental influence on your financial portfolio.
- Between 2009 and 2011, the GDP recovered, and the NIFTY 50 Index did as well. Your financial portfolio would have rebounded as well.
- GDP growth slowed between 2011 and 2013, owing to reasons such as high crude oil prices, high inflation, and the European debt crisis, among others. During this time, the NIFTY 50 Index also saw a correction. Your investment portfolio would have suffered as well.
- The GDP increased significantly from 2013 to 2018, surpassing 8% for the second time. During this time, the NIFTY 50 Index performed admirably. During this time, your investment portfolio would have produced impressive gains.
- In recent years, the direct association between GDP growth and the NIFTY 50 Index appears to have weakened. In truth, there is a significant gap between the two. So, despite the fact that GDP growth has slowed, your investment portfolio has produced excellent results.
Divergence between GDP growth and stock markets
The relationship between GDP growth and stock markets is usually direct, as shown in the graph above, but this is not always the case. The Nifty 50 Index and GDP growth headed in different directions in 2019, and this trend persisted in 2020 and 2021. The following things may contribute to such a scenario:
Stock markets that are always looking ahead: Stock markets are always looking ahead. So, even if GDP growth is currently modest, the stock markets are anticipating strong GDP growth in the future and are trading at higher levels as a result.
High liquidity: In the previous year and a half, central banks and governments around the world, including India, have implemented various stimulus initiatives to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. People have received cash as a result of this. The majority of this money has been placed in the stock markets, which has resulted in greater stock market trading levels.
Other than stock, there aren’t many investing options: To counteract the pandemic’s effects and jump-start the economy, the RBI slashed interest rates dramatically. As a result, banks’ fixed deposit rates have dropped to multi-year lows. When the pandemic hit, gold spiked, but it has since adjusted and remained static. As a result, except from stock, Indian individual investors have few other investing options. As a result, most investors have put their money into stocks, causing the NIFTY 50 Index to rise.
Foreign fund flows: In the recent year, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have invested massive sums of money in Indian stock markets, in addition to Indian ordinary investors. The NIFTY 50 Index has also risen as a result of this.
Better company profitability: The pandemic has impacted the whole Indian corporate sector. The unlisted economy, SMEs, MSMEs, and the informal economy continue to suffer. Large publicly traded corporations, on the other hand, have been able to weather the storm much more quickly and effectively. As a result, huge publicly traded firms’ profits have increased, and their stock values have increased, causing the NIFTY 50 Index to rise.
Divergence between GDP growth and stock markets is temporary
We’ve seen how the GDP growth rate and stock market performance can diverge. This type of divergence, however, is just transitory and will be corrected at some point. Either the GDP growth rate will rebound and the Indian economy will return to its previous high growth rate, or the stock market will correct in tandem with the low GDP growth rate in the future.
India’s GDP growth rate has a better chance of increasing than the stock market falling. Still, only time will tell what will transpire. What appears likely is that, over time, the pace of GDP growth and the stock market will re-establish a direct relationship.
Last words
You would be getting strong returns on your investment portfolio right now, even if GDP growth is sluggish. However, this may not last long, therefore let’s hope India’s GDP growth picks up rapidly so that our current investment returns remain stable and grow in the future. In the long run, proper asset allocation will ensure that your investment portfolio earns the best possible returns, even if GDP growth is sluggish. When the equity markets are performing poorly, the debt and gold sections of your investing portfolio can provide good returns. As a result, ensure that you have a suitable asset allocation between equity, gold, debt, and other assets, so that you can continue to achieve optimal returns regardless of GDP growth.
Is GDP a reliable indicator of economic well-being?
GDP has always been an indicator of output rather than welfare. It calculates the worth of goods and services generated for final consumption, both private and public, in the present and future, using current prices. (Future consumption is taken into account because GDP includes investment goods output.) It is feasible to calculate the increase of GDP over time or the disparities between countries across distance by converting to constant pricing.
Despite the fact that GDP is not a measure of human welfare, it can be viewed as a component of it. The quantity of products and services available to the typical person obviously adds to overall welfare, while it is by no means the only factor. So, among health, equality, and human rights, a social welfare function might include GDP as one of its components.
GDP is also a measure of human well-being. GDP per capita is highly associated with other characteristics that are crucial for welfare in cross-country statistics. It has a positive relationship with life expectancy and a negative relationship with infant mortality and inequality. Because parents are naturally saddened by the loss of their children, infant mortality could be viewed as a measure of happiness.
Figures 1-3 exhibit household consumption per capita (which closely tracks GDP per capita) against three indices of human welfare for large sampling of nations. They show that countries with higher incomes had longer life expectancies, reduced infant mortality, and lesser inequality. Of course, correlation does not imply causation, however there is compelling evidence that more GDP per capita leads to better health (Fogel 2004).
Figure 1: The link between a country’s per capita household consumption and its infant mortality rate.