Track C · MacroNode C1
GDP, properly
Layer 1 · Pocket
~ 30s readThe thirty-second answer
What is this?
GDP measures market activity, sliced three ways — production, expenditure, income — that have to come out equal. It's the agreed-upon scoreboard, not a measure of welfare.
Why should I care?
Every macro debate uses GDP. Once you see what it lenses well and what it misses, the debates become legible — and you stop confusing the scoreboard with the score.
What GDP counts and misses
- Market transactions
- counted
- Government services
- counted at cost
- Household production
- missed
- Environmental harm
- missed
- Disaster cleanup
- counts +