Everyone should know: GDP - what is it

Most readers who studied the economy, of course, know the GDP indicator - what is it. The purpose of this article is to refresh the memory of the significance of this measure of the work of the state economy. He was introduced to economics by a native of Pinsk (Minsk province), Simon Smith Smith, an American economist, winner of the 1971 Nobel Prize. The indicator he created (in English GDP) was proposed for use in 1934. It is promising, it is now widely used in the world.

The economic essence of GDP (GDP)

What can be said about the economic nature of GDP? That this is the aggregate of services and goods produced during the year, expressed in terms of their market value. Simply put, this is all that a country produces in a year. Calculate this indicator by special formulas in three ways: by added value, by income, by expenditure.

Starting a conversation about the methodology of this macroeconomic parameter, we recall that its dynamics is reflected by nominal GDP (estimate - in current year prices) and real GDP (in prices of the previous year). Obviously, the real indicator, unlike the nominal one, if we reject the inflation factor, demonstrates the growth of the economy due to the development of production.

The ratio (in the form of a fraction), where the numerator is nominal and the denominator is real, is called the GDP deflator used by statistical agencies to estimate production in the country's economy.

Concluding the answer to the question: "The methodology of GDP - what is this?", We will show two more types of this parameter: potential (if the production operates under full employment) and actual (unround, in natural conditions). They, figuratively speaking, characterize the "margin of safety".

Dynamics of Russia's GDP

According to Rosstat's official information, in 2013 GDP growth in Russia was slower than in the previous year. The reason is the intensification of the global economic crisis, and as a result - the worsening of the oil price environment. What does this mean, according to official information? Decrease in GDP growth compared to the previous year - from 3.4% to 1.3%. If to speak in absolute figures, then in 2013 the nominal GDP amounted to 66,689 trillion rubles. According to this indicator, the Russian economy is the fifth in the world. According to the results of 2013, agriculture and forestry were the most dynamically developing in the national economic complex - 3.2%.

Conclusion

This economic macro-indicator in its absolute expression does not show what kind of economy it generates. To determine this, it is necessary to analyze in more detail its internal structure. If we look at the share of Russia's GDP in various sectors, we see that oil and gas make up 28-30% in it, and the output of machine building is less than 5%. Development reserves are obvious. In connection with the prevalence of products of primary industries, Russia's nominal GDP is dependent on the oil and gas prices. Forecasts for the development of the country's machine building complex are promising. They stabilize its nominal index, make it insensitive to fluctuations in commodity prices. Further development of the economy should lead to an increase in the share of machine-building products. In the future, a series of articles that more closely answer the question: "GDP, what is it?" - will continue.