On Sat, 01 Nov 2003 23:10:07 -0500, Matthew G. Saroff wrote:

One should understand that per capita GDP is also
imprecise. We, for example, spend something like twice the
amount per capita on medical expenses (something like 20% of
GDP), with generally lower life expectancy and higher infant
mortality.
Our GDP is boosted by the inefficiencies in health care.

GDP isn't actually a measure of wealth generated -- though it's
often used as that. It's a measure of economic activity. If I crash
my car and pay someone 100 quid to fix it, that adds 100 pounds to
Britain's GDP, but nothing to its wealth.

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