Economic growth in national accounting: a comparison between Germany and the U.S.

Since 1996 the growth rate of real GDP in the U.S. has been measured on the basis of a chain-type annual-weighted Fisher quantity index, i.e. the growth rate of real GDP is independent of the basis year but it is no longer ensured that GDP is equal to the sum of its components. Despite this flaw, a change in the German national accounts system to a Fisher index would be necessary if also in the German price statistics hedonic methods were used to measure price developments in the area of IT investments. After such a revision, the results of German national accounting would again be compatible with the statistical data of the U.S. and other important industrial countries.