Measuring The Real Size Of The World S Economy

"This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions"--T.p. verso.

This volume provides a comprehensive review of the statistical theory and methods underlying the estimation of purchasing power parities (PPPs) and real expenditures, the choices made for the 2005 International Comparison Program (ICP) round, and the lessons learned that led to improvements in the 2011 ICP.

Maps capture data expressing the economic complexity of countries from Albania to Zimbabwe, offering current economic measures and as well as a guide to achieving prosperity Why do some countries grow and others do not? The authors of The Atlas of Economic Complexity offer readers an explanation based on "Economic Complexity," a measure of a society's productive knowledge. Prosperous societies are those that have the knowledge to make a larger variety of more complex products. The Atlas of Economic Complexity attempts to measure the amount of productive knowledge countries hold and how they can move to accumulate more of it by making more complex products. Through the graphical representation of the "Product Space," the authors are able to identify each country's "adjacent possible," or potential new products, making it easier to find paths to economic diversification and growth. In addition, they argue that a country's economic complexity and its position in the product space are better predictors of economic growth than many other well-known development indicators, including measures of competitiveness, governance, finance, and schooling. Using innovative visualizations, the book locates each country in the product space, provides complexity and growth potential rankings for 128 countries, and offers individual country pages with detailed information about a country's current capabilities and its diversification options. The maps and visualizations included in the Atlas can be used to find more viable paths to greater productive knowledge and prosperity.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2019 'A near miracle' Ha-Joon Chang, author of 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism According to the economy, we have never been wealthier or happier. So why doesn't it feel that way? The Growth Delusion explores how we prioritise growth maximisation without stopping to think about the costs. So much of what is important to our well-being, from safe streets to sound minds, lies outside the purview of statistics. In a book that is both thought-provoking and entertaining, David Pilling argues that our steadfast loyalty to growth is informing misguided policies, and proposes different criteria for measuring our success.

Understanding the impacts of globalization requires good data, and national statistical systems were not designed to measure many of the transactions occurring in today’s global economy. The chapters in this two-volume set identify biases and gaps in national statistics, examine the magnitude of the problems they pose, and propose solutions to address significant biases and fill key data gaps.

How’s Life? charts whether life is getting better for people in 37 OECD countries and 4 partner countries. This fifth edition presents the latest evidence from an updated set of over 80 indicators, covering current well-being outcomes, inequalities, and resources for future well-being.

This volume is part of a recently completed research project at the World Bank that reviewed the macroeconomic experience of 18 developing countries from the mid-1960s. The period encompassed two oil shocks, two world recessions, a sharp rise in world interest rates, the debt crisis, and changes in exchange rate regimes. In this context, Colombia provides an almost unparalleled example of steady long-term economic growth despite external shocks, political crises, civil strife, reliance on a single, dominant commodity (coffee), and the rising importance of illicit drugs in the economy. Courting Turmoil and Deferring Prosperity looks at how Colombia managed to avoid major prolonged economic crises against all odds. Its economy has confronted several external and internal shocks from the mid-1960s, mainly due to the country's reliance on exports of coffee, the price volatility of which can greatly affect the economy. The period also witnessed major policy changes, including a long-term shift from an essentially inward-oriented development strategy, based on industrialization through import substitution, to an outward-oriented, export-led strategy. The authors' analysis differs from most existing literature on the Colombian economy in two important ways: it evaluates policy responses to shocks in terms of their success in achieving short-run stabilization, as well as their impact on long-run growth; and it explores the intimate links between economic policies and the specific political and social ideologies, institutions, and structures in Colombia that have historically conditioned government policymaking. The report also highlights the role of prudent macroeconomic policies for crisis avoidance and analyzes the links between fiscal policy, trade policy, and exchange rates.

Measuring Economic Growth and Productivity: Foundations, KLEMS Production Models, and Extensions presents new insights into the causes, mechanisms and results of growth in national and regional accounts. It demonstrates the versatility and usefulness of the KLEMS databases, which generate internationally comparable industry-level data on outputs, inputs and productivity. By rethinking economic development beyond existing measurements, the book's contributors align the measurement of growth and productivity to contemporary global challenges, addressing the need for measurements as well as the Gross Domestic Product. All contributors in this foundational volume are recognized experts in their fields, all inspired by the path-breaking research of Dale W. Jorgenson. Demonstrates how an approach based on sources of economic growth (KLEMS – capital, labor, energy, materials and services) can be used to analyze economic growth and productivity Includes examples covering the G7, E7, EU, Latin America, Norway, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, India and other South Asian countries Examines the effects of digital, information, communication and integrated technologies on national and regional economies