What is Economic Growth?

What is economic growth and how is it measured. What are some of the factors that inhibit growth. Using specific examples, show how some countries have achieved high rates of economic development.

Economic growth is the ability of a nation to expand it productive capacity, resulting in an increased aptitude to satisfy the material wants of the nation. It occurs as a consequence of the increased availability of goods and services available for consumption and/or investment by the people.


Economic growth is measured as the rate of change of the total output of all final goods and services produced within a nation over a specified period of time (usually a year). Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the most common measure of economic growth, measuring the total market value of final goods and services in a nation during a twelve month period. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) measures economic growth in four ways by GDP (at average 1989-90 prices (that is, the calculation of r...