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The Power of a Single Number : A Political History of GDP / Philipp Lepenies.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York, NY : Columbia University Press, [2016]Copyright date: ©2016Description: 1 online resource (208 p.)Content type:
Media type:
Carrier type:
ISBN:
  • 9780231175104
  • 9780231541435
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 339.3109 23
LOC classification:
  • HC79.I5 L4613 2016
  • HC79.I5 L4613 2017
Other classification:
  • online - DeGruyter
Online resources: Available additional physical forms:
  • Issued also in print.
Contents:
Frontmatter -- Contents -- Introduction -- 1. What It's All About -- 2. William Petty and Political Arithmetic -- 3. The Frustrations of Colin Clark -- 4. Simon Kuznets and The Politics of Gross National Product -- 5. War, Kidnapping, and Data Theft -- 6. The Ultimate Triumph of Gross National Product -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Index
Summary: Widely used since the mid-twentieth century, GDP (gross domestic product) has become the world's most powerful statistical indicator of national development and progress. Practically all governments adhere to the idea that GDP growth is a primary economic target, and while criticism of this measure has grown, neither its champions nor its detractors deny its central importance in our political culture.In The Power of a Single Number, Philipp Lepenies recounts the lively history of GDP's political acceptance-and eventual dominance. Locating the origins of GDP measurements in Renaissance England, Lepenies explores the social and political factors that originally hindered its use. It was not until the early 1900s that an ingenuous lone-wolf economist revived and honed GDP's statistical approach. These ideas were then extended by John Maynard Keynes, and a more focused study of national income was born. American economists furthered this work by emphasizing GDP's ties to social well-being, setting the stage for its ascent. GDP finally achieved its singular status during World War II, assuming the importance it retains today. Lepenies's absorbing account helps us understand the personalities and popular events that propelled GDP to supremacy and clarifies current debates over the wisdom of the number's rule.
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number URL Status Notes Barcode
eBook eBook Biblioteca "Angelicum" Pont. Univ. S.Tommaso d'Aquino Nuvola online online - DeGruyter (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Online access Not for loan (Accesso limitato) Accesso per gli utenti autorizzati / Access for authorized users (dgr)9780231541435

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Introduction -- 1. What It's All About -- 2. William Petty and Political Arithmetic -- 3. The Frustrations of Colin Clark -- 4. Simon Kuznets and The Politics of Gross National Product -- 5. War, Kidnapping, and Data Theft -- 6. The Ultimate Triumph of Gross National Product -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Index

restricted access online access with authorization star

http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec

Widely used since the mid-twentieth century, GDP (gross domestic product) has become the world's most powerful statistical indicator of national development and progress. Practically all governments adhere to the idea that GDP growth is a primary economic target, and while criticism of this measure has grown, neither its champions nor its detractors deny its central importance in our political culture.In The Power of a Single Number, Philipp Lepenies recounts the lively history of GDP's political acceptance-and eventual dominance. Locating the origins of GDP measurements in Renaissance England, Lepenies explores the social and political factors that originally hindered its use. It was not until the early 1900s that an ingenuous lone-wolf economist revived and honed GDP's statistical approach. These ideas were then extended by John Maynard Keynes, and a more focused study of national income was born. American economists furthered this work by emphasizing GDP's ties to social well-being, setting the stage for its ascent. GDP finally achieved its singular status during World War II, assuming the importance it retains today. Lepenies's absorbing account helps us understand the personalities and popular events that propelled GDP to supremacy and clarifies current debates over the wisdom of the number's rule.

Issued also in print.

Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.

In English.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 02. Mrz 2022)