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The monumental task of measuring the GDP over and over again

Sep 28, 2023
The keepers of GDP continually update their calculations as more information becomes available.
Measuring the economy requires continually revising data as more data becomes available.
Stephane de Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images

The economy apparently shrank and grew at the same time

Sep 15, 2023
Depending on how you measure it, the economy either grew or shrank, according to BEA statistics.
Gross domestic product, or GDP, and gross domestic income, or GDI, are different ways to measure the economy.
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GDP growth in the U.S. was sluggish last quarter

Apr 27, 2023
Inflation was up and inventories down, but consumer spending kept GDP growing — albeit at a slower pace.
Consumers are still buying things, but "inflation wears you down," warns Morning Consult's John Leer.
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This week's GDP number may show a shrinking economy. But that doesn't equal recession.

Jul 25, 2022
There are reasons to take a weak gross domestic product report with a big grain of salt.
Thursday’s report on gross domestic product may show a contracting economy, but recessions are typically determined by a wider range of data.
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Our lost GDP year

Jul 29, 2021
U.S. GDP grew 6.5% from April through June, less than many economists expected. However, it’s caught up to pre-pandemic levels.
Many businesses were still closed at Union Station in Washington, D.C., in May. GDP grew 6.5% in the spring quarter, rebounding after the pandemic lockdown.
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Predictions about GDP this fall

Jun 23, 2021
Some say the economy could get a boost in the fall, even with potential threats looming.
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When it comes to relief, think of the economy as a car tire

Feb 10, 2021
Wendy Edelberg from Brookings evaluates what the Republican and Democratic relief proposals could mean for GDP.
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For public good, not for profit.

Keep this in mind when you read Thursday’s GDP report

Oct 28, 2020
The number is going to be “annualized.”
The third-quarter GDP report is expected to show record-breaking growth, but that's not the whole story.
Photo by Chaloner Woods/Getty Images

UK's Johnson moves to suspend Parliament ahead of Brexit

Aug 28, 2019
The timing of the decision took lawmakers by surprise. One called the move "sinister."
BIARRITZ, FRANCE - AUGUST 24: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a press conference in the Bellevue hotel conference room at the conclusion of the G7 summit on August 24, 2019 in Biarritz, France.
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Why we need GDP growth

Feb 28, 2019
Last year, the U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.9 per cent — a pretty respectable number, and a likely product of the 2017 tax overhaul. But as the “sugar-high” from those tax cuts wanes, what will the effects of sub-3 percent growth rates mean for the U.S. economy in the long run? Click […]
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