ECONOMICS FOR REAL PEOPLE: The GDP Delusion

Here’s the spiel for tomorrow night’s (Tuesday night’s) econ evening at Auckland Uni.

Following popular demand, and as discussed at last week's seminar,  we will continue with seminars during the exam period. We will meet again in the engineering school tomorrow (Tuesday) at 7pm to discuss one of economics' most frequently cited statistics - Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 
GDP is often used to measure economic growth and it forms an important part of most courses in economics while also playing an important role in shaping government policy. However, often we accept such ideas without critical examination and without assessing the extent to which it achieves what it is claimed to do.
So in this seminar we will define GDP and show where and how it is applied by economists. But more importantly, we will examine its apparent deficiencies and weaknesses. How is it that in the midst of the current recession, GDP is shown to be rising but that the underlying real-world economic fundamentals continue to deteriorate? Should the concept of GDP be shown to be an empty concept, then the implications and consequences are far reaching for us all. We will discuss what these consequences might be.

    Date: Tuesday 26th October
    Time: 7:00pm
    Location: Engineering 3402

NB: We are in the same room as last week and at the same time.  If you are unsure, the Engineering Building is 20 Symonds St.  If you walk through the main doors off Symonds St and straight across the hall, room 3402 is to the right.

Look forward to seeing you there for an interesting and challenging evening.
Fraser, Julian and Peter