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Comparison of GDP Per Capita Data in Penn World Table and World Development Indicators

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  • Rati Ram
  • Secil Ural

Abstract

This paper compares data on GDP per capita, which is used in almost every cross-country study, from two different sources which are used by numerous researchers and other users throughout the world. The methodology consists of taking GDP per capita in international dollars for the ICP benchmark year 2005 for each country from World Development Indicators 2012 CD-ROM (WDI) and Penn World Table 7.1 (PWT), which are the current (2012) versions of these well-known sources. A similar exercise is undertaken for World Development Indicators 2011 CD-ROM and Penn World Table 7.0, which are the last versions of the data. The WDI and PWT data are also compared with the benchmark estimates from the last International Comparison Program (ICP). Huge differences are found between the two sources for numerous countries in both the current and the last versions. The number of countries for which WDI and the ICP benchmark numbers show huge differences is small, but there are many countries for which PWT and the ICP benchmark numbers show large differences. The study seems important for judging how data on this crucial variable from two most widely used sources agree or differ. The reported huge differences suggest that the users may exercise caution in drawing strong conclusions from information derived from either source, and may consider doing some sensitivity checks based on data from the other source. A simple illustration is provided to indicate how use of data from each source might affect the results. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Rati Ram & Secil Ural, 2014. "Comparison of GDP Per Capita Data in Penn World Table and World Development Indicators," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 116(2), pages 639-646, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:116:y:2014:i:2:p:639-646
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-013-0284-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. World Bank, 2012. "World Development Indicators 2012," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6014.
    2. Rati Ram, 2009. "International income distribution: comparing new ICP and the existing data," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 36(6), pages 652-658, May.
    3. Frederick Solt, 2009. "Standardizing the World Income Inequality Database," LIS Working papers 496, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    4. Rozanski, Jerzy & Yeats, Alexander, 1994. "On the (in)accuracy of economic observations: An assessment of trends in the reliability of international trade statistics," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 103-130, June.
    5. World Bank, 2011. "World Development Indicators 2011," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2315.
    6. Frederick Solt, 2009. "Standardizing the World Income Inequality Database," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 90(2), pages 231-242, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Bennett, Daniel L. & Faria, Hugo J. & Gwartney, James D. & Morales, Daniel R., 2017. "Economic Institutions and Comparative Economic Development: A Post-Colonial Perspective," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 503-519.
    2. Rati Ram, 2016. "PPP GDP Per Capita for Countries of the World: A Comparison of the New ICP Results with World Bank Data," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 127(3), pages 1057-1066, July.
    3. Muinelo-Gallo, Leonel, 2022. "Business cycles and redistribution: The role of government quality," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 46(4).
    4. Daniel L. Bennett & Hugo J. Faria & James D. Gwartney & Daniel R. Morales, 2016. "Evaluating Alternative Measures of Institutional Protection of Private Property and Their Relative Ability to Predict Economic Development," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 31(Summer 20), pages 57-78.
    5. Shaomeng Jia & Claudia R. Williamson, 2019. "Aid, Policies, And Growth: Why So Much Confusion?," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 37(4), pages 577-599, October.
    6. Yin†Wong Cheung & Menzie Chinn & Xin Nong, 2017. "Estimating currency misalignment using the Penn effect: It is not as simple as it looks," International Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(3), pages 222-242, December.
    7. Mo, Bin & Chen, Cuiqiong & Nie, He & Jiang, Yonghong, 2019. "Visiting effects of crude oil price on economic growth in BRICS countries: Fresh evidence from wavelet-based quantile-on-quantile tests," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 234-251.
    8. Erik E. Lehmann & Matthias Menter, 2016. "University–industry collaboration and regional wealth," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 41(6), pages 1284-1307, December.
    9. Daniel L. Bennett & Hugo J. Faria & James D. Gwartney & Hugo M. Montesinos-Yufa & Daniel R. Morales & Carlos E. Navarro, 2017. "Evidence on economic versus political institutions as determinants of development," Working Papers 2017-04, University of Miami, Department of Economics.
    10. Kacprzyk, Andrzej & Kuchta, Zbigniew, 2020. "Shining a new light on the environmental Kuznets curve for CO2 emissions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    11. Tamanna Adhikari & Karl Whelan, 2019. "Do Business-Friendly Reforms Boost GDP?," Working Papers 201930, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    12. Adhikari, Tamanna & Whelan, Karl, 2023. "Did raising doing business scores boost GDP?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 1011-1030.

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