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в ответ Ален 24.04.03 22:33
Gross Domestic Product per capita
Category: Economic
1. Indicator
(a) Name: Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.
(b) Brief Definition: Levels of GDP per capita are obtained by dividing
annual or period GDP at current market prices by population. A variation of
the indicator could be the growth of real GDP per capita which is derived by
computing the annual or period growth rate of GDP in constant basic producers'
or purchasers' prices divided by corresponding population.
(c) Unit of Measurement: $US.
2. Placement in the Framework
(a) Agenda 21: Chapter 2: International Cooperation to Accelerate
Sustainable Development in Developing Countries and Domestic Policies.
(b) Type of Indicator: Driving Force.
3. Significance (Policy Relevance)
(a) Purpose: The indicator is a basic economic growth indicator and
measures the level and extent of total economic output. It reflects changes
in total production of goods and services.
(b) Relevance to Sustainable/Unsustainable Development: Growth in the
production of goods and services is a basic determinant of how the economy
fares. By allocating total production to each unit of population, the extent
to which the rate of individual output contributes to the development process
can be measured. It indicates the pace of per capita income growth and also
the rate that resources are used up. As a single composite indicator of
economic growth, it is a most powerful summary indicator of the economic state
of development in its many aspects. It does not directly measure sustainable
development but it is a very important measure for the economic and
developmental aspects of sustainable development, including people's
consumption patterns and the use of renewable resources.
(c) Linkages to Other Indicators: As a highly aggregated composite
measure, this indicator has close links with many, more disaggregated
indicators.
Examples would include population growth, net migration, other GDP indicators,
land use change, arable land per capita, and forest area.
(d) Targets: National targets are generally oriented towards priorities,
availability of resources and, in large measure, to historical economic
performance. International targets are most often established by financial
institutions and international organizations only for the purposes of
intercountry comparison of economic performance in determining the direction
of aid distribution or resource allocation projects. Country groupings to
form economic entities, for example, the European Community, Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and the Benelux countries, also set
international targets among constituent members to serve as guidelines in
national policy priority setting. Moreover, the United Nations uses average
world per capita income as a threshold in setting the level of relief
allowance for countries with large population in its formulation of the scale
of assessments of member states.
(e) International Conventions and Agreements: The 1993 System of National
Accounts (SNA) provides international standards for national accounts.
4. Methodological Description and Underlying Definitions
(a) Underlying Definitions and Concepts: GDP as defined in the 1993 SNA
can be defined in three ways: Firstly, it is the sum total value- added of
all production units including all taxes and subsidies on products which are
not included in the valuation of output. It is also equal to the sum of final
uses of goods and services (except intermediate consumption) measured in
purchasers' prices, less the value of imports of goods and services. Finally,
it can be measured as the sum of primary incomes distributed by resident
producer units.
(b) Measurement Methods: The current price estimates of GDP are adjusted
to GDP at constant prices with the use of price deflators. Population
estimates enable the conversion of total GDP to per capita levels, while
exchange rates and other conversion factors are used to arrive at values based
on a common unit of currency. Real GDP is derived by extrapolating total
value-added in the base year with production indicators in physical terms or
by deflating current price values by a price deflator.
(c) The Indicator in the DSR Framework: GDP per capita deals with the
processes and patterns of economic forces. As such, it is recognized as a
composite Driving Force indicator of sustainable development within the DSR
Framework. However, it can also be regarded as a measure of the State of a
country's economy in relation to population.
(d) Limitations of the Indicator: As a necessary condition to being a key
economic performance indicator of sustainable development, one of the
often-cited limitations of GDP is that it does not account for the social and
environmental costs of production; it therefore is not a good measure of the
level of over-all well being. For example, GDP per capital reveals nothing
concerning energy and material interactions with the environment. GDP is also
not considered a good measure of sustainable consumption because it does not
allow for the capital used up in the production process.
There may exist some differences in national accounting and demographic
reporting procedures and practices between countries. One other possible
drawback could lie in the comparability of price information used in deflating
current price data and technical differences in the choice of base year for
the original data. Additionally, a considered basic limitation lies in the
conversion of GDP into a common denomination as a result of current
misalignments in exchange rates for some countries vis-a-vis the comparator
currency (US dollar) particularly for those countries in transition whose
market exchange rates produce unrealistic levels of GDP, making any meaningful
intercountry interpretation difficult.
The conversion rates used by the UN Statistics Division (UNSD) are normally
the market or blended rates of exchange obtained from the International
Monetary Fund (IMF). In some cases, use is made of UN operational rates which
are established primarily for the settlement of administrative transactions
between host countries and the UN. In very unique circumstances the use of
purchasing power parities (PPP) or price-adjusted rates of exchange (PARE) is
necessary. The World Bank also uses a special exchange rate where the official
exchange rate produces distortion in the dollar levels of GDP.
(e) Alternative Definitions: Economic indicators that measure the
achievement of higher levels of goods and services more efficiently are better
indicators of sustainable development. Consumption trends are better
reflected by such indicators as Personal Consumption expenditures as used in
the USA. This indicator can be derived from the SNA.
5. Assessment of the Availability of Data from International and National Sources
The indicator has no serious limitations in terms of data availability. The
principal data elements for a majority of countries are mostly and regularly
available from national and international sources on a historical basis.
Internationally accepted conceptual guidelines, are also available to assist
with the compilation of the indicator. Annual GDP data in current and
constant prices are generally reported by national statistical offices or
central banks in the United Nations (UN) National Accounts questionnaire and
supplemented by estimates prepared by the UN as well as other international
organizations such as the World Bank and the IMF. The Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) compiles quarterly GDP estimates
for its Members. Population data are mainly obtained either through censuses
or surveys. These are supplemented by growth estimates prepared by the UN
Population Division.
6. Agencies Involved in the Development of the Indicator
The lead agency is the United Nations Department of Economics and Social
Information (DESIPA). The lead contact is the Director, Statistics Division,
DESIPA; fax no. (1 212) 963 9851.
7. Further Information
(a) Statistics and Data:
Comprehensive national accounts statistics are published by the UN in the
series National Accounts Statistics: Main Aggregates and Detailed Tables. A
historical series of GDP is available from the national accounts database of
the UN Statistics Division.
Population data and projections are available in the World Population
Prospects published by the Population Division of the UN Department of
Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis.
Exchange rates are published by the IMF in International Financial Statistics.
(b) Status of the Methodology:
The 1993 SNA provides international standards on national accounts and is the
product of collaborative efforts between EUROSTAT, IMF, OECD, UN and the World
Bank.
LEAD AGENCY: DESIPA
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