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Why does GDP per capita differ from average family income?

Abbreviated Question: 
Why does GDP per capita differ from average family income?
Answer: 

GDP per capita and average family income are two distinct indicators used to evaluate economic performance. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, which vary based on the specific question and context.

When the GDP is calculated for a country, is inflation taken into account?

Abbreviated Question: 
When the GDP is calculated for a country, is inflation taken into account?
Answer: 

The difference is between real and nominal growth. The GDP of a country is the $ value of the goods & services produced by that country in a year. Say, the GDP of a country in 2010 is $100 and that in 2011 is $110. The increase could have happened because a) the country produced more goods in 2011 than it did in 2010 even as prices did not change, or) it produced the same amount of goods in both years but prices of the goods (in $) went up. In case a), we would say that the real growth rate is 10% because none of that is attributable to price level increases (inflation).

Is debt reflected as a net economic positive in the GDP?

Abbreviated Question: 
Is debt reflected as a net economic positive in the GDP?
Answer: 

GDP is the $ value of the total value of final goods and services produced in a year. That is the income definition. There is an equivalent expenditure definition. Loans are financial assets and all financial assets and liabilities are not counted in the GDP --financial transactions don't produce anything real.

Calculating GDP

Abbreviated Question: 
Calculating GDP
Answer: 

The main problem with your calculation is that you are using as "G" the French government's budgetary expenditure, which most likely includes large transfer payments. Transfer payments are not part of GDP. Another problem is that you are adjusting for the government borrowing, which has no place in the GDP calculations.

Are goods and services purchased to comply with regulations included in GDP?

Abbreviated Question: 
Are goods and services purchased to comply with regulations included in GDP?
Answer: 

GDP is the final $ value of all final goods and services produced in a year. Even if a service exists to help compliance with a regulation, it is included because the provision of that service, such as that performed by a tax attorney, is income to the provider. Viewed this way, it is immaterial why the service exists in the first place - to GDP calculations, a chef or a tax attorney or a travel agent are all the same; they are providing services.

What does the "contribution of construction" to GDP include?

Abbreviated Question: 
What does the "contribution of construction" to GDP include?
Answer: 

As you probably have seen already, you can find the measure of value added to GDP per sector of the US economy at the Bureau of Economic Analysis website, specifically at this web address: https://www.bea.gov/industry/iedguide.htm

On the GDPbyInd_VA_NAICS file downloadable on the website, you can find the calculations for the value added by industry and sector as well as the definitions of each sector used to compile the national accounts.

In an ideal world with no recession and constant GDP growth, would the central bank always increase its balance sheet?

Abbreviated Question: 
In an ideal world with no recession and constant GDP growth, would the central bank always increase its balance sheet?
Answer: 

The money supply and the size of the central bank’s balance sheet are closely connected. Currently and historically, the sum of currency and bank reserves (a narrow definition of the money supply) account for almost all of the Fed’s liabilities. Turning to the asset side of the balance sheet, although the size of the Fed’s assets has grown in lockstep with its liabilities, the composition of assets has varied more over time.

How high can our national debt get (as a % of GDP) before it will be a threat to our financial stability?

Abbreviated Question: 
How high can our national debt get (as a % of GDP) before it will be a threat to our financial stability?
Answer: 

The national debt of the US is the amount owed by the US federal government and is the value of the Treasury securities that have been issued primarily by the Treasury and which are outstanding at that point of time. By far, the largest component of US public debt is debt held by the public, investors outside the federal government, including that held by individuals, corporations, the Fed, and foreign, state and local governments. Current total public debt is bit over 100% GDP. 47% of the debt held by the public is currently owned by foreign investors, primarily China and Japan.

Why is the growth of GDP so important?

Abbreviated Question: 
Why is the growth of GDP so important?
Answer: 

The event that you are referring to is what economists call recessions. During recessions, GDP drops or grows significantly below normal times for a period of usually less than two years. Recessions are dreaded by many but not all economists. Robert Lucas, a Nobel Prize winner, questioned long ago the idea that short term economic fluctuations are really costly to society. He suggested that the public may not be willing to pay much, say in terms of higher taxes, to get rid of economic fluctuations.

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