Chained dollars redux

[Enrique Diaz-Alvarez]

Enrique Diaz-Alvarez wrote:
> 
> Doug,
> 
>         going back to this chained-dollars adjustment to GDP. I got some
> figures. I get this from another bear, Michael Burke.
> 
> "Here is how it works: The US counts growth in "computing power" as
> sales
> growth, not in dollar sales. Of course, we have been in an era where
> computing
> power has grown exponentially while ASPs of the same computers have
> fallen
> like a rock."
> 
> "For example, last year, chained dollar computer sales growth added $158
> billion
> to GDP, more than half of GDP growth. In real dollars, computer sales
> were up
> less than $8 billion. This discrepancy of 95% between actual numbers and
> govt.
> fantasy numbers is the ONLY component of our outsized GDP growth and
> productivity growth and low inflation numbers. Without chained dollar
> sales of
> computers, both GDP growth and productivity growth look very sickly."
> 
> I pored over the figures at the DOC web site. Under gross private
> investment, change from previous year, I get +$137 billion. 

$137 billion is the increase in "computers and peripherals". Sorry about
the confusion.
-- 
Enrique Diaz-Alvarez            Office # (607) 255 5034	
Electrical Engineering          Home #   (607) 272 4808
112 Phillips Hall               Fax #    (607) 255 4565
Cornell University              mailto:enrique at ee.cornell.edu
Ithaca, NY 14853                http://peta.ee.cornell.edu/~enrique