This was written as Appendix 1.1 for an early draft of In Stormy Seas. In the process of reducing the text for publication it was dropped, but it turns up ghost like on page 11). This version is from the September 1994 version.

Keywords: Statistics;

Economists typically measure the output of an economy by Gross Domestic Product (at market prices), or GDP, that is the market production for some period usually over a year, or sometimes three months (a quarter). The basic notion is that the production of each commodity – good or service – is valued at market prices and totalled up, after deducting inputs.[1] It is a measure fraught with subtle assumptions.