Gross Deomestic Product (GDP), the unemployment rate, inflation, consumer sentiment, and a dozen other indicators of the economy are explained in clear detail by Zachary Karabell. Karabell shows that “the economy” wasn’t a major topic until 1940. During the Great Depression, the key indicators that we take for granted today were developed. “The economy” lacked the measurements and structure that it has today. And the U.S., the World Bank, and the U.N. imposed these economic measurements on the entire world. I knew a few of these stories from the economics courses I took, but Karabell’s comprehensive picture of the various indicators and how they were developed makes for fascinating reading. GRADE: A
Table of Contents:
The ripples of domesday
Unemployment
National income and the man from Pinsk
The invention of the economy
The economic gestalt
Inflation: from leading indicator to government con
Diminishing returns
Where’s Waldo?
Gross national happiness
The avatars.