Economic indicators are statistical data that represents the economic activity. Economic indicators play a significant role in facilitating the analysis of the performance of the economy and also establishing predictions of the expected performance in future. An example of a function played by economic indicators is the analysis of the business cycles. Various economic indicators may be used for analysis. Some of them are, but not limited to income and wages, interest rates, currency strength, corporate profits, consumer price index, the balance of trade and interest rates. Economic activities differ from region to region depending on various factors, such as labor or population, technology, labor or population, law, natural resources, and infrastructure or physical capital. Therefore, different countries tend to have differing data for the economic indicators (Shah,2017).
The table below shows a comparison of economic key indicators between the united states of America and China.
Country
United states
China
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in million dollars
19390604
11221836
GDP per capita (in dollars)
59501
8116
Durable and non-durable goods
256716
250000
Retail sales
4.5%
10.1%
Housing starts (in millions)
1319
4.90%
Unemployment rate
4.3%
4.1%
Inflation rates
2.1%
1.8%
Population
325886000
1390080000
Median household average income (in dollars)
56516
2901
Human development index (HDI)
0.920
0.738
Trade deficit or trade surplus
Trade deficit 57.6 billion dollars
Trade surplus 19.4 billion
Trade deficit 4.98 billion dollars
Trade surplus 23.56 billion dollars
As observed from the table above, the key economic indicators vary from one country to the other. In this case, the comparison is done between the United States and China. China was known as a leading civilization in sciences and arts. However, after 1978, DENG Xiaoping, the successor or MAO Zedong, together with other leaders shifted their focus to market-oriented economic development. However, by 2000, their objectives were realized through the increased output. As a result, the living standards of majority improved drastically. Since then, China has broadened its global participation and outreach to international organizations, and hence growing economically. The United States, nonetheless, is made up of various states, spreading across the North American continent. However, the civil war and the great depression affected the economy, and a large number of the labor force lost their jobs. From the period of the end of the second world war, the economy of the united states has achieved low inflation and unemployment, steady growth as well as rapid advances in the field of technology (Orlik,2012).
According to data collected in 2017, the Gross domestic product, which represents the real growth rate, the united states recorded 2.2% GDP while China recorded 6.8%. From the data, we can deduce that China's economy is growing at a faster rate as compared to the economy of the united states. Apart from that, the rate of inflation, which is an annualized change in the percentage of the general price index, is higher in the united states (2.1%) as compared to China, which has an inflation rate of 1.9%. Considering the unemployment rate, it is higher in the united states (4.3%) as compared to China which is at 4.1%. The data can be interpreted to show that China is creating more jobs to accommodate the population as compared to the united states, which has a higher population compared to the rate of job creation (Orlik,2012).
Over the years, China has transformed from a closed system to a more market-oriented system that engages in the global role. This has contributed to its efficiency gains that have increased the gross domestic product. The United States, however, has the most technologically strong economy. The US firms are on the leading board in technical advances, especially those involved in pharmaceuticals, computers, aerospace, medical and military equipment. However, comparing the GDP of the two countries, the United States comes second after China, whose economy has grown drastically over the past four decades.
References
SHAH, R. A. J. I. V. (2017). Entrepreneurship, Innovation, And the Economy In The Us, China, And India. S.L.: Elsevier Academic Press.
Orlik, T. (2012). Understanding China's economic indicators: Translating the data into investment opportunities. Upper Saddle River, N.J: FT Press.
