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Price Levels, Size, Distribution and Growth of the World Economy: Insights from recent International Comparisons of Prices and Real Product

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We highlight and extend findings of the recent International Comparison Program (ICP) for the years 2011 and 2017 that provides PPP based national accounts for 173 countries. The growth and distribution of world GDP are examined and some convergence is found. The ICP price level story is consistent with that of previous ICP rounds of the 1970s. Using new methods, international prices were compared between the 1975 ICP and 2017. Updating the results to 2019, it is clear China is number one and that gains of the lower income countries are another casualty of covid-19.

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  • Alan Heston & D.S Prasada Rao, 2021. "Price Levels, Size, Distribution and Growth of the World Economy: Insights from recent International Comparisons of Prices and Real Product," CEPA Working Papers Series WP102021, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia.
    • Handle: RePEc:qld:uqcepa:164
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    File URL: https://economics.uq.edu.au/files/30491/WP102021.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Abe, Naohito & Rao, D.S. Prasada, 2022. "Towards a simplified approach to international price comparisons: A case for the Multilateral Walsh Index," RCESR Discussion Paper Series DP22-1, Research Center for Economic and Social Risks, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Purchasing power parities; price levels; global growth; inequality; price structures;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E01 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - Measurement and Data on National Income and Product Accounts and Wealth; Environmental Accounts
    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • O57 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries

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