Ecomomics questions on Growth,GDP and Happiness

by jack1sempergmailcom (student)

Growth,GDP and happiness

Outline the limitations of using GDP as a measure of living standards. Use examples to support your answer.

Gdp doesn’t take into account the amount of debt/ debt-servicing costs so countries who may be very rich may have a large debt which could lead to future generations paying higher taxes and less consumer spending aswell as government spending.

There level of gdp may also have been achieved by changes in leisure/working hours and overall working conditions which can affect family/social life and is a factor in measuring living standards.

Gdp may be undervalued as it does not consider the value of non-marketed output and unpaid work e.g voluntary care

Research the country of Bhutan and briefly explain the concept of “national happiness”.

National happiness (GNH) is a qauntative measure of the collective happiness and well-being of a population.

The Buddhist nation of Bhutan was the first society to determine policy based on the happiness of its citizens, with the king of Bhutan claiming in 1972 that Gross National Happiness (GNH) was a more important measure of progress than Gross National Product. Bhutan has a population under 800,000 and the average income is about $110 per month however life expectancy has doubled in the ...

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Research the country of Bhutan and briefly explain the concept of “national happiness”.

National happiness (GNH) is a qauntative measure of the collective happiness and well-being of a population.

Someof the GNP principles include

-physical health

-education

-good governance

-environmental quality

-material well-being

It has gained huge attraction from other countries wanting to use the same model however despite its focus on national happiness it faces many challenges.for example it remains one of tge poorest countries in the world aswell as 70% of people without electricity.furthermore it is struggling with a rise in violent crime and a increase in both food prices and population.

Evaluate the costs and benefits of economic growth with reference to a country of your choice.

There are many positives of economic growth however many benefits come with a cost.an increase in economic growth means an increase in real GDP.this shows the value of national output,income and expenditure has increased.

China is an example of a country who has seen rapid economic growth caused by the industrialisation over the last 30 years.one benefit of this has been an increase in average incomes which allows consumers to consume more goods and services and enjoy better living standards which further increases economic growth as investment and consumption will increase.

furthermore with consumption rising firms will generate greater revenue allowing them to employ more workers which reduces unemployment and income inequality gap.however there has also been many costs to society.following the economic growth china has become the biggest exporter in the world causing pollution to significantly increase which may reduce living standards and create further problems for future generations.however these negative externalities are very hard to evaluate there damage to society as they carry no monetary value.china have also increased the use of non-renewable resources to meet the demand for there exports.