Discrepancies: Why Do GDP Growth Rates Differ?

Morten Jerven ()

Journal, 2016, vol. 6, issue 1, 63-80

Abstract: Why do GDP growth rates differ? In this paper I show how GDP levels and growth estimates travel from national statistical offices to international databases maintained by international financial institutions as well as datasets maintained by scholars. It makes the point that, strictly speaking, these databases are secondary sources, and only through meticulous backward tracking of how different data series have travelled from statistical offices to international datasets can their quality be determined. Thus far, most research has focussed on the different biases or changes resulting from different methodologies of harmonisation, such as different methods of expressing series in international currencies. This paper emphasises the role of the uneven application of benchmark revisions, clerical errors, and political negotiation in accounting for discrepancies in different sources of reported GDP growth rates.

Keywords: Economic growth; statistics; databases; national accounts; World Bank (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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