4 ms·
Is GDP per capita a measure of anything real for day-to-day life?
by Loughla 2y ago
Is GDP per capita a measure of anything real for day-to-day life?
- trgn 2y agoIt's a measure of global agency.
- 082349872349872 2y agoThe lower the Gini coefficient, the better day-to-day proxy it makes? (I saw a claim here on HN the other day that the state of mississippi has a higher GDP/capita than europe in general; while I don't know if that be true [my corner of western europe being over twice on that scale], the two potential explanations [based on my memories of a neighbouring state] which sprung to mind were: (a) the benefit of the general productivity of mississippi may be concentrated [and perhaps not even among those living there], or (b) GDP/capita is a better indicator for finance than prosperity)
- tharmas 2y agoIts the UK, minus London, that has a similar GPD per capita as Mississippi.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- rsynnott 2y agoNot particularly; it's not even _supposed_ to be a measure of wellbeing/standard of living. It's at best a measure of economic activity, but it's kind of problematic even for that, especially in an increasingly globalised economy.
- tharmas 2y agoIt can be heavily skewed. The UK and Ireland are two examples. Ireland's GDP per capita is heavily skewed by the Big corporations that are registered there for low tax purposes. And the UK's GDP is heavily skewed by London's financial sector. Its a very rough indicator. Silicon Valley and the poorest county in Mississippi are in deep contrast to each other. California has one of the highest GDPs per capita in the world. Mississippi has the lowest in the USA.