ECONTWO PAPER 1
Murakami, Criselle
11227737
A Reflection On The Article GDP and Economic Well-Being
Upon reading the article “GDP and Economic Well-Being”, various insights occurred to me and all these revolved around the question “Does GDP really measure the Economic well-being of an average person?”. In my own perception, GDP is not a accurate measure of a well being of a person. But first, in order for me to be able to prove my point, it is essential that I define what well-being is. According to the dictionary, well being is the state of being happy, healthy or successful, therefore if happiness is one factor of well-being, one can conclude that it is immeasurable because happiness varies from one person to another.
Nevertheless, I still agree that GDP is an important factor in economics, for it measures the economy’s total income and total expenditure, which could connote a lot of patterns in the behavior of spending of a particular country. I believe that GDP is one of the things that the government should be conscious about, as GDP could possibly communicate a need for the government to take action. If a country is spending less, it could connote that the income of the people is insufficient or it could be that the expenses are priced higher than what people can afford. If this is the case, it could entail that there is something wrong with the how the government regulates the country.
With this, I see why they relate the economy’s well being to GDP. For if the GDP is high, it could mean that the people are able to satisfy their basic necessities. However, to talk about well-being is a different case because to assume that a high GDP can manifest happy and successful individuals disregards the fact that there are other factors neglected when it comes to computing the GDP such as the fact mentioned in the article that the income and expenditure could solely come from the wealthy and not really obtain the average expenditure and income of every
11227737
A Reflection On The Article GDP and Economic Well-Being
Upon reading the article “GDP and Economic Well-Being”, various insights occurred to me and all these revolved around the question “Does GDP really measure the Economic well-being of an average person?”. In my own perception, GDP is not a accurate measure of a well being of a person. But first, in order for me to be able to prove my point, it is essential that I define what well-being is. According to the dictionary, well being is the state of being happy, healthy or successful, therefore if happiness is one factor of well-being, one can conclude that it is immeasurable because happiness varies from one person to another.
Nevertheless, I still agree that GDP is an important factor in economics, for it measures the economy’s total income and total expenditure, which could connote a lot of patterns in the behavior of spending of a particular country. I believe that GDP is one of the things that the government should be conscious about, as GDP could possibly communicate a need for the government to take action. If a country is spending less, it could connote that the income of the people is insufficient or it could be that the expenses are priced higher than what people can afford. If this is the case, it could entail that there is something wrong with the how the government regulates the country.
With this, I see why they relate the economy’s well being to GDP. For if the GDP is high, it could mean that the people are able to satisfy their basic necessities. However, to talk about well-being is a different case because to assume that a high GDP can manifest happy and successful individuals disregards the fact that there are other factors neglected when it comes to computing the GDP such as the fact mentioned in the article that the income and expenditure could solely come from the wealthy and not really obtain the average expenditure and income of every