Limitations of GDP · 国内生产总值的局限性
| English | 中文 | Pinyin · 拼音 |
|---|---|---|
| nonmarket transactions/ˌnɒnˈmɑːkɪt trænˈsækʃnz/ | 非市场交易 | fēi shì chǎng jiāo yì |
| household production/ˈhaʊshəʊld prəˈdʌkʃn/ | 家庭生产 | jiā tíng shēng chǎn |
| underground economy/ˌʌndəˈɡraʊnd ɪˈkɒnəmi/ | 地下经济 | dì xià jīng jì |
| externalities/ekˈstɜːnælɪtiz/ | 外部性 | wài bù xìng |
| pollution/pəˈluːʃn/ | 污染 | wū rǎn |
| resource depletion/rɪˈzɔːs dɪˈpliːʃn/ | 资源枯竭 | zī yuán kū jié |
| leisure/ˈleʒə/ | 闲暇 | xián xiá |
| distribution of income/ˌdɪstrɪˈbjuːʃn ɒv ˈɪŋkʌm/ | 收入分配 | shōu rù fēn pèi |
| GDP per capita/ˌdʒiː diː ˈpiː pɜː ˈkæpɪtə/ | 人均国内生产总值 | rén jūn guó nèi shēng chǎn zǒng zhí |
| population/ˌpɒpjʊˈleɪʃn/ | 人口 | rén kǒu |
One number can't say everything
- GDP is powerful, but it is not a perfect scorecard for a nation.
- It misses real work that has no price tag.
- It ignores the damage done while producing.
- Knowing its limits keeps you from over-trusting a single figure.
一个数字说不尽一切
- GDP 很有力,但它不是一个国家的完美成绩单。
- 它漏掉了没有价格标签的真实劳动。
- 它忽略了生产过程中造成的损害。
- 了解它的局限,能让你不过分相信一个数字。
What GDP understates
- Nonmarket transactions 非市场交易 — useful work with no payment, like household production 家庭生产 (cooking, childcare) and volunteering.
- Hire a cook and GDP rises; cook the same meal yourself and it does not.
- The underground economy 地下经济 — hidden, unreported work that GDP simply cannot see.
GDP 低估了什么
- 非市场交易(nonmarket transactions)——没有报酬的有用劳动,比如家庭生产(household production,做饭、带孩子)和志愿工作。
- 雇一个厨师,GDP 上升;自己做同一顿饭,它不变。
- 地下经济(underground economy)——隐藏的、未申报的工作,GDP 根本看不见。
If you cook your own dinner instead of paying a restaurant, GDP: · 如果你自己做晚饭而不是去餐厅付钱,GDP:
Unpaid household production has no market price, so GDP does not record it. · 无偿的家庭生产没有市场价格,所以 GDP 不记录它。
Hidden, unreported work that dodges taxes is part of the ______ economy. · 为逃税而隐藏、未申报的工作,属于______经济。
Because it is deliberately hidden, GDP records less output than really happened. · 因为它被刻意隐藏,GDP 记录的产出比实际发生的少。
What GDP ignores
- Externalities 外部性 — a factory's output raises GDP, but the pollution 污染 it creates is not subtracted.
- Resource depletion 资源枯竭 — cutting a forest counts as output, but the lost forest is not a recorded loss.
- GDP also ignores leisure 闲暇 and says nothing about the distribution of income 收入分配 — a high GDP can hide great inequality.
GDP 忽略了什么
- 外部性(externalities)——工厂的产出抬高 GDP,但它造成的污染(pollution)并没有被减去。
- 资源枯竭(resource depletion)——砍一片森林算作产出,但失去的森林并未记为损失。
- GDP 还忽略闲暇(leisure),对收入分配(distribution of income)只字不提——高 GDP 可能掩盖巨大的不平等。
Does GDP capture it? · GDP 能捕捉到它吗?
GDP misses unpaid and hidden work, and ignores pollution, resource loss, leisure, and inequality — so it is not a full measure of well-being. · GDP 漏掉无偿和隐藏的劳动,忽略污染、资源损失、闲暇和不平等——所以它不是福祉的完整衡量。
GDP subtracts the value of pollution created while producing goods. · GDP 会减去生产商品时造成的污染的价值。
GDP counts the factory's output but ignores the pollution — an externality it does not subtract. · GDP 计入工厂的产出,却忽略污染——一个它不减去的外部性。
Select all · 所有 that GDP fails to capture. · 选出所有 GDP 未能捕捉的东西。
GDP misses unpaid work, side effects and inequality; a car sale is a market transaction it does count. · GDP 漏掉无偿劳动、副作用和不平等;卖车是它确实计入的市场交易。
GDP per capita
- To compare living standards, economists use GDP per capita 人均国内生产总值 — total GDP divided by population 人口.
- Worked idea. Country A: GDP 2,000b, 200m people → per capita 10,000. Country B: GDP 500b, 25m people → per capita 20,000.
- A is far bigger in total, yet the average person in B is twice as well off.
- Total GDP alone would have misled us.
人均 GDP
- 为比较生活水平,经济学家用人均国内生产总值(GDP per capita)——总 GDP 除以人口(population)。
- 例题。 A 国:GDP 2,000 十亿,2 亿人 → 人均 10,000。B 国:GDP 500 十亿,2500 万人 → 人均 20,000。
- A 国总量大得多,可 B 国的普通人却富裕两倍。
- 只看总 GDP 会误导我们。
A country has GDP of 2,000 billion and 200 million people. What is its GDP per capita, in dollars? (use billions ÷ millions × 1000) · 一个国家 GDP 为 2,000 十亿,人口 2 亿。它的人均 GDP 是多少美元?(用 十亿 ÷ 百万 × 1000)
Per capita = 2,000,000 million ÷ 200 million = 10,000 per person. · 人均 = 2,000,000 百万 ÷ 200 百万 = 每人 10,000。
Why is GDP per capita better than total GDP for comparing living standards? · 为什么比较生活水平时人均 GDP 比总 GDP 更好?
A huge country can have a large total GDP but a low average standard of living. · 一个大国可能总 GDP 很大,但平均生活水平很低。
GDP understates output (it skips nonmarket transactions and the underground economy) and ignores costs like externalities and resource depletion, plus leisure and the distribution of income. For living standards, use GDP per capita — total GDP divided by population.
GDP 低估产出(它漏掉非市场交易和地下经济),并忽略像外部性和资源枯竭这样的成本,以及闲暇和收入分配。要看生活水平,用人均 GDP——总 GDP 除以人口。