Aggregate Measures of Income and Output in Canada and the United States: Implications for Productivity and Living Standards

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Abstract

This article clarifies the definitions of and produces estimates for all eight aggregate measures of income and output (GDP, GNP, NDP, NNP, GDI, GNI, NDI, NNI) for Canada and the United States over 1980-2008. It argues that GDP and NDP are the most appropriate measures for productivity analysis, while net national income (NNI) is the best living standards measure as it captures terms of trade effects, net income from abroad, and capital stock sustainability. NNI per capita in Canada was 86 per cent of the U.S. level in 2008, considerably higher than the 80.3 per cent GDP per capita ratio.

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