I’d expect the equivalent of any one of these things in 1960 would have cost at least a hundred times the annual income of an average person if it was even possible at all. Just from these five things alone, it seems like real GDP ought to have grown by a factor of hundreds.
… and yet, whatever formula we’re using for real GDP says it’s only grown by a factor of 6. What gives? How the heck is real GDP computed that makes it so low? What exactly is it measuring?
Sounds completely and utterly nonsensical. I do not think the US economy grew by a factor of tens (let alone hundreds) since 1960. Whatever measure of economic growth you’re alluding to, it seems obviously wrong/misguided to me, and of no particular interest.
Another measure of economic growth is energy consumption, and that did not grow anywhere near as spectacularly (it barely doubled):
Energy consumption (1960): 45.086 quadrillion BTU
Energy consumption (2011): 97.301 quadrillion BTU
(Source: EIA)
Energy consumption is an input, whereas GDP claims to be measuring an output, which is what the post concerns itself with. In principle you could have GDP growth while energy consumption drops if other inputs increase simultaneously.
So going back to the outputs: How much do you think the equivalent of a 2 GHz laptop with an internet connection would have cost / could have been sold for in 1960?
With all due respect:
Sounds completely and utterly nonsensical. I do not think the US economy grew by a factor of tens (let alone hundreds) since 1960. Whatever measure of economic growth you’re alluding to, it seems obviously wrong/misguided to me, and of no particular interest.
Another measure of economic growth is energy consumption, and that did not grow anywhere near as spectacularly (it barely doubled):
Energy consumption (1960): 45.086 quadrillion BTU
Energy consumption (2011): 97.301 quadrillion BTU
(Source: EIA)
Energy consumption is an input, whereas GDP claims to be measuring an output, which is what the post concerns itself with. In principle you could have GDP growth while energy consumption drops if other inputs increase simultaneously.
So going back to the outputs: How much do you think the equivalent of a 2 GHz laptop with an internet connection would have cost / could have been sold for in 1960?