Name:
Worksheet #1
GDP and GDP/capita
Instructions: Please answer the following questions. Submit this worksheet on
Canvas.
1) Drawing upon your lecture notes, explain why capitalism may be seen as a
catalyst for a “better life.”
2) To obtain the data to complete the following table, go to the World Bank’s Data
Bank (http://data.worldbank.org/indicator). Select the “All Indicators” tab at the
top and scroll down to find the following indicators:
GDP (constant 2015 US$)
Population, total
2021 GDP (constant
2015 US$)
2021 Population,
total
Your GDP/capita
estimate
Costa Rica
India
a) What pattern do you observe when you compare the GDP and GDP/capita
estimates for these two countries? Why do you think this is the case?
2) Drawing upon the required readings for today (speech by Bobby Kennedy, The
Economist article “Keeping up with the Karumes,”), describe some of the main
concerns associated with a single-minded focus on GDP and GDP/capita as
measures of the level of development of a society.