Week 4, DQ 2

Economic growth, as measured by increases in real GDP per capita, is a goal for most countries. This is often interpreted as an increase in economic welfare for citizens. How would you evaluate this assertion? If there are reasons to dispute it, why is it a nearly universally recognized goal? Are there better methods for measuring economic welfare? How would you measure it?

The GDP per capita is each individual member's share ofa nation'sGDP. The interesting part of this is that two countries may have the same GDP, but if one (such as China) has a larger population, then the GDP per capital is lower than a country with the same GDP, but a smaller population (such as the U.S.). However, as Professor Callahan pointed out, the purchasing power of someone in China is probably...