Ah, Japan & GDP growth numbers, the perfect example :) Are GDP numbers a good indicator of the success of economic policies? They aren't that useful if you ig

Ah, Japan & GDP growth numbers, the perfect example :) Are GDP numbers a good indicator of the success of economic policies? They aren't that useful if you ignore all the details. Here is an example when comparing US and Japan GDP growth numbers: http://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/es/article/10011 http://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/es/article/10011 "In summary, three structural factors seem to account for the difference in GDP growth between Japan and the United States in the post-1990 period: (i) the slow population growth in Japan, (ii) the employment rate, and (iii) the decline of average hours worked in Japan from a very high level to the level in the United States. It seems useful to consider these findings when Japan’s experience is used to draw policy conclusions for the United States." And yet we have been lectured by numerous economists (sometimes with Nobel medals on them) about the implications these raw GDP growth numbers supposedly have for economic policy.