1.1. The articles emphasize the importance of being able to measure an economy’s output to improve government policy. Looking at recent news, can you identify one economic policy debate or action that referenced GDP? As the 20th century drew to a close, the U.S. Department of Commerce embarked on a review of its achievements. At the conclusion of this review, the Department named the development of the national income and product accounts as

“its achievement of the century.”

J. Steven Landefeld Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis While the GDP and the rest of the national income accounts may seem to be arcane concepts, they are truly among the great inventions of the twentieth century.