How $1 Could Cripple The US Economy

How does the economy breakdown?

Economic growth describes an increase in the quantity and quality of the economic goods and services that a society produces and consumes.

While the definition of economic growth is straightforward, it is extremely difficult to measure it. Growth is often measured as an increase in household income or inflation-adjusted GDP, but it is important to keep in mind that this is not the definition of it – just like life expectancy is a measure of population health, but certainly not the definition of population health. Income measures are merely one way to understand the economic inequality between countries and the changing prosperity over time. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of an economy is a measure of total production. More precisely, it is the monetary value of all final goods and services produced within a country or region in a specific time period. Comparisons over time and across borders are complicated by price, quality and currency differences, as explained below.

From the long-term perspective of social history, we know that economic prosperity and lasting economic growth is a very recent achievement for humanity. In this entry we will also look at this more recent time and will also study the inequality between different regions – both in respect to the unequal levels of prosperity today and the unequal economic starting points for leaving the poverty of the pre-growth past.