Economics
Economic Performance
Economic performance refers to the overall health and productivity of an economy, typically measured by indicators such as GDP growth, unemployment rates, inflation, and trade balances. It provides insight into the efficiency and effectiveness of a country's economic system, influencing factors such as living standards, investment opportunities, and government policies.
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7 Key excerpts on "Economic Performance"
eBook - ePubAn Introduction to Gender and Wellbeing in Microeconomics
Foundations, Concepts and Policies
- Nicky Pouw(Author)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
We will therefore move beyond the traditional efficiency-equality dichotomy and identify complementary Economic Performance indicators to GDP growth that do more justice to production in the unpaid economy. This conveys our gender-aware perspective at the macro-economic level. Moreover, as explained in Chapter 3, social inequity and environmental sustainability are raised as critical themes that cannot be overlooked when evaluating Economic Performance from a more inclusive perspective. This requires the recognition and valuation of intangible assets as compounding factors to Economic Performance. We will therefore introduce a number of alternative performance indicators that can be used to assess society’s progress in multiple dimensions. These indicators are useful to capture some of the externalities of economic growth that go otherwise unrecorded in economic analysis and policy evaluation. 7.2 Economic Performance Economic Performance is the assessment of an economy in relation to how it functions and what outcomes it produces to the people who constitute the economy, and the environment in which it is embedded. Economic Performance is, in essence, a measure of success for an economy to deliver on its prime functions. What these prime functions are, what outcomes are produced, and for whom or what is part of a longstanding debate in the field of economics. Box 7.1 Economic Performance Economic Performance is the assessment of an economy in relation to how it functions and what outcomes it produces to the people who constitute the economy, and the environment in which it is embedded. Historically, efficiency has been the theoretical and conceptual criterion in economics to assess whether an economy is functioning in an optimal manner. The reasoning behind this is an efficient economy precludes the highest amount of total output that can be produced at any given point in time
eBook - PDF- Rhona C. Free(Author)
- 2010(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications, Inc(Publisher)
29 MEASURING AND EVALUATING MACROEconomic Performance DAVID HUDGINS University of Oklahoma T he performance of a nation's economy actualizes as both cause and effect. The phase of the economic cycle serves as a catalyst that permeates the deci-sions of individuals, business firms, and government pol-icy makers on a continuous basis. It affects the prices and yields of financial assets, the spending decisions of con-sumers, corporate borrowing and investment, and choices available to general public. Yet the course of economic activity is also the result of the expectations and actions of its participants. Their collective behavior works in conjunction with the state of nature, which may include favorable conditions or unfavorable conditions, such as excessive droughts, flooding, or other disasters, to guide the economy along its trajectory. Despite the importance of assessing economic perfor-mance, its measurement and evaluation are elusive. This is true for three main reasons. First, just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the state of the economy depends on the evaluator. There is no one universal criterion or natural law that determines the standard by which performance is judged. The choice of standard depends on a host of fac-tors, some of which are the relative weighting of unem-ployment and inflation, the definitions of boom and recession, the rate of economic growth versus environ-mental degradation, and the national income distribution. Second, macroEconomic Performance deals with aggregated variables, such as overall economic output or national unemployment. These aggregated variables do not directly reveal all of the components that constitute the aggregates, such as the individual composition of the output, which means that many of the details are effec-tively hidden from policy makers. Third, the measurement of the variables themselves is imprecise. For example, there is no universal way to capture overall inflation.
eBook - ePubThe Impact of Privatization
Ownership and Corporate Performance in the United Kingdom
- Stephen Martin, David Parker(Authors)
- 1997(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
which performance measure or measures to report. The performance measure(s) selected will determine the particular aspects of performance that the researcher concentrates on and hence the nature of the research undertaken (Parker, 1991, p. 9). Also, the efficiency of the enterprise should be measured in relation to the enterprise’s objectives. If the main objective is to raise the real income of the poor, the performance indicator used will need to reflect this if it is to measure the organisation’s success in achieving its goal(s).The following discussion is concerned with the nature of economic efficiency and performance measurement. It also includes some introductory discussion of the methods adopted in assessing performance pre- and post-privatisation, the results of which are reported in the later chapters.ECONOMISTS AND PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT
A starting point in the discussion of performance measurement is to consider how economists approach the concept of efficiency. In broad terms economists distinguish between two categories of efficiency, productive and allocative efficiency. Productive efficiency is concerned with the lowest cost method of producing output and can itself be divided into two parts—static and dynamic efficiency gains. Static efficiency relates to producing existing products more efficiently while using existing production processes. By contrast, dynamic efficiency is concerned with raising performance by improving products and processes over time. Allocative efficiency requires static productive efficiency and focuses on achieving the output which society regards as socially optimal.1
eBook - PDF- Bradley A. Hansen(Author)
- 2006(Publication Date)
- Greenwood(Publisher)
Two Measuring the Performance of the American Economy The British politician Benjamin Disraeli once declared that there are three kinds of lies: ‘‘Lies, damn lies, and statistics.’’ To avoid being lied to with economic statistics, it is necessary to understand how Economic Performance is measured. It is easy to measure what is happening in a particular market. The price of gas at the station around the corner from my house is $2.09 today. Measuring the performance of the entire economy is not as straightforward because we are looking at millions of different goods and services. The objective of this chapter is to provide an introduction to how production, employment, and prices are measured for the economy as a whole. MEASURING TOTAL PRODUCTION Measuring the total production of an economy is called national in- come and product accounting. In the United States, the Bureau of Eco- nomic Analysis of the Commerce Department is responsible for national income and product accounts. They are called income and product accounts because in a market economy we can measure the total amount of pro- duction either by counting the flow of payments in the market for goods and services produced or by counting the flow of income in the market for resources. Total production and total income have to be nearly equal be- cause there are two sides to every sale. Every payment by a buyer is income to a seller. The total amount of production is the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and the total amount of income is national income. Measuring Gross Domestic Product The most widely used measure of Economic Performance is GDP. In 2003 the GDP of the United States was $10,987,900,000,000. That is, GDP was more than $10 trillion. GDP is defined as the market value of final goods and services produced in a country during a specific period of time.
- Chandrika Kaul, Valerie Tomaselli-Moschovitis, Chandrika Kaul, Valerie Tomaselli-Moschovitis(Authors)
- 1999(Publication Date)
- Greenwood(Publisher)
C. Economics GENERAL OVERVIEW Economic indicators—such as gross domestic product and inflation rates—provide analysts, policymakers, and students of poverty with basic information about the eco- nomic viability of an economy. They signify a country's capacity to satisfy the material needs of its people, such as its ability to produce products and services for con- sumption, to provide individuals with livelihoods, and to provide stable price arenas within which to produce products and sustain life. For a study of poverty, the value of these indicators is crucial. The economic concerns they cover are vital to poor people throughout the developing world. For in- stance, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the change in prices consumers pay over periods of time, has a direct impact on the capacity of individuals to sat- isfy their material needs: if an increase in prices out- strips an increase in income, a lessening of the standard of living may result. But the picture of deprivation suffered by the poor throughout the world cannot always be reduced to dol- lars and cents. Economic data must be supplemented by an investigation into demographic trends, health con- cerns, and educational issues in order to derive a fully human portrait of poverty. Indicators analyzing these types of data are presented in other sections in this book. EXPLANATION OF INDICATORS Gross Domestic Product (GDP): As a measure of the total output of goods and services of a country, the GDP is a benchmark in analyzing any country's economic health. It shows the economic capacity of a country. It is a complex indicator, determined by various factors in- cluding the physical wealth (land, minerals, forests, etc.), human resources (employees, employers, and their skill levels), and capital development (internal infrastructure, production-related machinery, etc.).
eBook - PDFTrading Economics
A Guide to Economic Statistics for Practitioners and Students
- Trevor Williams, Victoria Turton(Authors)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
GDP Gross domestic product is the most important economic measure and provides us with the best and most accurate indication of economic output. It is, in many cases, equated to economic success, as a strong economy usually equates to high living standards and quality of life for that country’s citizens, influence and, perhaps more ephemerally, power and prestige. As a universal measure, it has immense value in allowing us to: ∙ Compare progress over time within individual countries (see Fig-ure 2.2) ∙ Compare relative performance between countries ∙ Look at the world picture in its entirety and observe its economic path (see Table 2.1). Table 2.1 shows just how important comparisons of GDP are around the world. It allows countries to see if they are maintaining pace with other countries around the globe. This is very powerful, especially in a world where technology and more open economies and financial markets 8 Schultz, T.W., ‘Investment in human capital’, The American Economic Review , 51(1), 1961, 1–17. 9 Plosser, Charles I., ‘The search for growth’, Policies for Long-run Economic Growth (1992), 57–86. Economic Growth 35 1600 Annual Gross Domestic Product, £bn, SA 1948 1953 1958 1963 1968 1973 1978 1983 1988 1993 1998 2003 2008 1500 1400 1300 1200 1100 1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Figure 2.2 Annual GDP in the UK over the past 50 years. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS). mean that the spread of news is almost instantaneous. Real-time events in geographically distant areas of the world can be transmitted to all who have the relevant technical kit to receive it – and this kit is getting cheaper all the time. This allows investors to see if they are investing in the right markets for goods and services, and for them to respond accordingly if they want to react to changing events. It allows them also to see how their investments are performing. In short, global economic development is important for everyone.
eBook - PDFThe Indonesian Economy
Entering a New Era
- Aris Ananta, Muljana Soekarni, Sjamsul Arifin(Authors)
- 2011(Publication Date)
- ISEAS Publishing(Publisher)
Competitiveness, defined as a set of institutions, policies, and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country (World Economic Forum 2008), is one of the key factors explaining an economy’s growth potential. The best possible environment for the exchange of goods 362 Muljana Soekarni and Sjamsul Arifin requires minimum impediments to business activities such as distortionary or burdensome taxes, and restrictive and discriminatory rules on FDI. Efficiency and flexibility of labour markets are also critical for ensuring that workers are allocated to their most efficient use for the economy, and that the labour market has the flexibility to rapidly mobilize workers, including hiring and dismissing workers at a low cost. A well developed infrastructure reduces the effect of distance between regions. Furthermore, effective modes of transportation for goods, people, and services, enable entrepreneurs to get their goods to the market in a secure and timely manner. Economies also depend on electricity supplies that are free of interruptions and shortages so that businesses and factories can work unimpeded. Governance and competitiveness are expected to contribute to sustained high economic growth. Sustained high growth over an extended period of time will result in high income per capita for a country. Therefore, it is expected that the outcome from having governance is associated with high economic growth and per capita GDP. The rate of economic growth, however, is expected to be different between industrial and developing countries. In industrial countries, because the income base is well above that of developing countries, the rate of economic growth is lower than that in developing countries. In other words, the rate of economic growth in developing countries is expected to be higher, because of their low income base.
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