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GDP Limitations and Household Production
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Maria spends her weekends providing childcare for her neighbors without charging any fees. How does her unpaid work illustrate the limitations of GDP as a measure of economic activity?

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Choose the Best Answer

A

It shows that GDP accurately reflects all forms of economic production since household services are not included in GDP calculations.

B

It highlights that GDP fails to account for non-monetary contributions to the economy, which can underestimate overall economic welfare.

C

It indicates that only paid work contributes to GDP, making unpaid work irrelevant to economic analysis.

D

It suggests that GDP is a comprehensive measure that includes all forms of work, paid or unpaid.

Understanding the Answer

Let's break down why this is correct

Answer

Maria's unpaid childcare work shows one of the main limitations of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a measure of economic activity. GDP only counts money that is spent on goods and services, so it does not include valuable activities like Maria's unpaid caregiving. This means that even though she is providing an important service that helps her neighbors, it does not get recognized in the economic data. For example, if Maria were to charge for her childcare, that money would contribute to GDP, but her generous volunteer work does not, even though it adds significant value to her community. Therefore, GDP misses out on measuring the true contributions people make when they help each other without payment.

Detailed Explanation

Maria's work is valuable, but it doesn't get counted in GDP. Other options are incorrect because This answer thinks GDP includes everything, but it doesn't count unpaid work; This answer suggests only paid work matters, which isn't true.

Key Concepts

GDP Limitations
Household Production
Economic Welfare
Topic

GDP Limitations and Household Production

Difficulty

medium level question

Cognitive Level

understand

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