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Commentary By Allison Schrager

Why GDP Is the GOAT of Economic Statistics

Photo: Javier Ghersi/Moment via Getty Images

It is an odd confession to make about a statistic, I realize, but then again I am an economist, so I am just going to go ahead: I love GDP. There. I said it.

GDP — for gross domestic product, the total market value of all final goods and services produced within a county’s borders — is in many ways the ideal economic statistic, both for what it measures and what it represents. It is a single number that captures so much information, with a scope and history unmatched by almost any other measure. I am unapologetic in my desire to see it grow.

Continue reading the entire piece here at Bloomberg (Paywall)

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Allison Schrager is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a contributing editor of City Journal.