This analysis of GDP consumption from Left Business Observer is intriguing. Has the popular storyline of reckless consumption been wrong all along?
“Everyone knows that American consumers have been on a binge for the last ten or twenty years. Data connoisseurs could even tell you that the consumption share of GDP rose from an average of 64% in the 1980s to 70% in 2007–8. But while the numbers are accurate, they’re not really telling the story of a binge. Much of the rise has come from spending on health care, not flat-screen TVs.”
I’m not an economist (IANAE?) and welcome other views of this data.
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