Yiwu, the GDP data I used were derived using the "purchasing power parity" method whereas your data weren't -- that's the difference. When you convert any country's ave. GDP figure into another currency, say dollars, you can either use exchange rates or you can use ppp. estimates. The simplest way is to use exchange rates -- as your figures do, but unfortunately this method can lead to nonsensical results.
Take S. Korea, for example. Let's assume the ave GDP is 12mil won. When the exchange rate is 1000= $1, then ave GDP is $12,000. Now, suppose the won loses one half its value (as it almost did in 1997!) then the exchange rate is 2000=$1. This means that Korean GDP falls to $6000 -- one half the previous GDP This of course is nonsense. Korea's actual GDP didn't change, only the exchange rate changed.
The fundamental problem is that an exchange rate is frequently a misleading indication of the relative purchasing power of the currencies. For this reason economists developed an alternative estimate of purchasing power, which is ppp. This method estimates the relative purchasing power of the currencies by comparing prices (usually of internationally traded goods) in each country. While this approach has shortcomings of its own, it is far superior to the alternative.
If you want to see ppp derived estimates of GDP, you should go back to the link you suggested for me! The figures are there, in the column just to the left of the one you used. The table gave you an opportunity to go wrong, and you took it. <G>
Geoff |
