National Accounts: Barometer, Telescope And Compass For The National Economy

During the past 50 years, Dutch Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita increased fourfold. It is now seven times as large as that in China or Bhutan, 20 percent less than the USA and half of Luxembourg and Qatar. Such statements can now easily be made and have become quite common. They are also indispensable for understanding economic growth. However, hardly anyone is aware of all the thinking and calculations underlying such national accounts statistics; their availability is taken for granted and as self-evident.