GDP: Special Features of Using in Analytical Practice

Alexander S. Abroskin – Leading Researcher of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Doctor of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor (Moscow, Russia). E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Natalia A. Abroskina – Researcher of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (Moscow, Russia). E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The methodological aspects of the problems under investigation are considered in the context of GDP compilation specificities in line with the System of National Accounts based on the output method, the one most widely applied in international statistics. The examples of international and Russian practices presented in the paper illustrate the limitations of the GDP analytical functions when the classical version of this index is applied in macroeconomic analysis and comparative studies. These limitations give rise to ‘statistical paradoxes’ in international statistics, which can be explained, among other things, by the insufficient correctness of GDP as an indicator of the actual dynamics of socio-economic development. 

Key words: gross value added, gross domestic product, international statistics, methodological framework, output method, socioeconomic development, statistical paradoxes, sustainable development.