Gross Domestic Product

http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD/countries/GB-DE-RU-1W?display=graph

GDP Information:Gross Domestic Product: Measuring a Country’s IncomeHow do you measure a person’s income? Typically, we measure based on how much money a person has. But what is more important than how much money they have is how much they are able to buy with that money. For example, in Germany after World War I a person with six trillion marks could only buy one loaf of bread! Money was so worthless that it was used as fuel to heat homes and cook food.

A more accurate way to measure a person’s income is to determine how many goods and services can be bought with the money that a person has earned. After all, the reason we want money is because it enables us to buy the goods and services we want. Similarly, when economists want to know the income of a certain country, they are interested in how many goods and services are available to the people of the country. There is a special term that economists use to measure a country’s income — gross domestic product, or GDP.

DefinitionGross Domestic Product (GDP)GDP measures the market value of all final goods and services produced in an economy in a year. As you can imagine, this is a pretty large amount. In the United States, for example, the 2014 GDP was over 13 trillion dollars!

Per Capita GDPGDP data help economists compare the income levels of different countries. However, to make more accurate comparisons, economists use another term — per capita GDP. Per capita GDP measures the amount of GDP that is available for each person.

ExampleSuppose country A has a GDP of $5,000, and country B has a GDP of $2,000. In which country do the people have higher levels of income and a higher standard of living?

Answer: You can’t really tell since you don’t know how many people live in the countries!

Suppose country A has a population of 50, while country B has a population of only 10.The average amount of GDP for each person in country A would be $100 ($5,000/50 =

$100). The average amount available for each person in country B would be $200 ($2,000/10 = $20).Answer: Even though country B has a lower total GDP, it has a higher per capita GDP

Human Capital (Education)

https://tellmaps.com/uis/literacy/#!/tellmap/-1003531175

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_literacy_rate

Literacy Rates Information:Definition: The percentage of the population age 15 and up who can read and write

Literacy is a key skill and a key measure of a population’s education. In this entry we discuss historical trends, as well as recent developments in literacy.

From a historical perspective, literacy levels for the world population have risen drastically in the last couple of centuries. While only 12% of the people in the world could read and write in 1820, today the share has reversed: only 17% of the world population remains illiterate. Over the last 65 years the global literacy rate increased by 4% every 5 years – from 42% in 1960 to 86% in 2015.1

Despite large improvements in the expansion of basic education, and the continuous reduction of education inequalities, there are substantial challenges ahead. The poorest countries in the world, where basic education is most likely to be a binding constraint for development, still have very large segments of the population who are illiterate. In Niger, for example, the literacy rate of the youth (15-24 years) is only 36.5%.

Literacy is closely linked to factors affecting economic development such as education (human capital). Literacy is important because it benefits individuals, families, communities and nations. Literacy skills are also important for making informed decision-making, personal empowerment, and participation in local and global social community.

Entrepreneurship

http://thegedi.org/global-entrepreneurship-and-development-index/

Enterprise is a crucial engine of economic growth. Without enterprise and entrepreneurs, there would be little innovation, little productivity growth, and few new jobs.

Entrepreneurial success does not take place in a vacuum. Entrepreneurs exist in the context of their particular geography – be that their local, national, or even supranational economy and society.

This mix of attitudes, resources, and infrastructure is known as the entrepreneurship ‘ecosystem’. The Global Entrepreneurship Index is an annual index that measures the health of the entrepreneurship ecosystems in each of 137 countries. It then ranks the performance of these against each other. This provides a picture of how each country performs in both the domestic and international context.

The GEDI methodology collects data on the entrepreneurial attitudes, abilities and aspirations of the local population and then weights these against the prevailing social and economic ‘infrastructure’ – this includes aspects such as broadband connectivity and the transport links to external markets. This process creates 14 ‘pillars’ which GEDI uses to measure the health of the regional ecosystem.

Entrepreneurship is the process of starting a business, typically a startup company offering an new product, process or service.

Entrepreneurs can change the way we live and work. If successful, their new products or services may improve our standard of living. In addition to creating wealth from their entrepreneurial ventures (businesses), they also create jobs and the conditions for economic success.

Entrepreneurs help the economy by creating new businesses and goods and services. This creates more jobs for people, which causes the nation's’ GDP to grow. Examples include Apple, Coca-cola, and the t.v. show Shark Tank.

Natural Resources

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.TOTL.RT.ZS?end=2016&locations=GB&start=1970&view=chart

Definition: Natural Resources are materials that are produced in nature and can be used for economic gain

Natural Resources are very important to all communities throughout the world. In fact, without natural resources, we couldn’t survive. Trees, minerals, water, and animals are all examples of natural resources. Without them, we would have no food, clothing, or shelter. Natural resources are also very important to the economy of a community. Different communitiesaround the world use the natural resources around them to make their lives better.

Two types of natural resources exist: Renewable and Nonrenewable. Renewable resources are used at a slower rate than they are replaced. These include sun, water, wind and plants. Non-renewable resources are used at a faster rate than they are replenished and include natural gas, minerals, coal and oil.