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Oh man you're mixing up so many concepts. GDP is product - what value you produce during the year. Nothing is produced during a traffic jam. If you want to see
by stepanhruda 10y ago
Oh man you're mixing up so many concepts. GDP is product - what value you produce during the year. Nothing is produced during a traffic jam. If you want to see accumulated wealth and climate taken into account, compare quality of life.
- chrischen 10y agoHe's right though, a traffic jam creates a problem that must be solved, and someone solving that problem (providing gas, advertising on the radio while you helplessly listen, etc) will sell product.
- clock_tower 10y agoWikipedia describes three ways of modeling GDP: production, income, and expenditure. A traffic jam means more production of fuel (and vehicles, accounting for wear and tear), more income for fuel producers and mechanics, and higher expenditures (fuel, wear and tear, and radio ads); GDP rises on all three measures. Free time does not contribute to GDP; neither does use of accumulated capital.
- dragonwriter 10y agoLess free time means less demand for services catering to people's free time, and consequently less production of, income from, and expenditures on such services.