Economic Statistics

Economic activity on a global or national scale is called macroeconomics. Economic activity on a smaller scale is microeconomic Economists study a variety of statistics in order to study economic patterns or trends One thing that they study is the consumer price index or CPI. This is a measure of price changes for standard goods and services.

Two other important statistics are the Gross Domestic Product and the Gross National Product The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the value of all goods and service produced in a country The Gross National Product (GNP) measures the value of goods and services produced by a nation –even in other countries

By looking at the GDP and GNP we can see how the value of goods and services has grown or declined Changes in these statistics can help predict how well the economy will be doing in the near future The business cycle is a series of alternating ups and downs in economic activity

The Business Cycle The term "business cycle" refers to economy-wide changes in production, trade, and general economic activity. In simpler terms, the business cycle is the upward and downward movements of levels of GDP (gross domestic product) and refers to the period of expansions and contractions in the level of economic activities

Business cycles are identified as having four distinct phases: expansion, peak, contraction, and trough.

An expansion is characterized by increasing employment, economic growth, and upward pressure on prices. During this period the GDP is increasing A peak is realized when the economy is producing at its maximum allowable output This is the point of the highest GDP

During contraction the GDP begins to decline The lowest point that the GDP reaches is called the trough A recession is a period in which the GDP is declining over an extended period of time. ( A contraction)

During a recession there is often lots of unemployment, as businesses struggle during slow economic periods An extended recession, with an extreme decline in GDP, is called a depression. Generally, it is called a depression if the GDP drops by 10% or more from the peak level During a depression, a large portion of the population may be unemployed

Much of the world underwent a recession after the financial crisis of 2008. Some places have recovered, others have not. In general, recessions are frequent. Depressions are uncommon and can cripple the economy of a country In Social Studies 11 you will learn about the Great Depression of the 1920’s and 30’s and how it impacted the world