Re: Re: Re: the enemy's statistics

[Louis Proyect]

Ali:
>The point I want to make is again much of the
>statistics are nationally generated; back in the good
>old days the qulaity was a bit better because UN
>statisticians tried to systemetize the data and the
>data collection process and provide assitance to
>national bureaus as needed.

Another important thing to keep in mind is that the IMF adopted a new
method of calculating GDP in 1993. Instead of being limited to cash
transactions, barter would be allowed as well. So if in China a peasant
walks four miles to trade a watermelon for a pair of hand-made sandals,
this gets factored in the same as buying a pair of sandals from Kmart that
were made on an assembly line in Taiwan. With this new methodology, China
all of a sudden became the world's fourth largest economy. So when you look
at the HDI, keep in mind that improved GDP might not be what it seems.

Louis Proyect
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