Measures:
- Gross national income (GNI)
* broadest measure of a country's economy
* measures the value of all production in the domestic economy together with the income that the country receives from other countries (through dividends and interests)
- Gross national product (GNP) (Paul Samuelson states, "truly among the great inventions of the 20th century, a beacon that helps policymakers steer the economy toward key economic objectives")
* the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year, plus the income earned by its citizens abroad, minus the income earned by foreigners from domestic production.
- Gross domestic product (GDP)
* the total market value of all output produced within a nation's borders, no matter whether generated by a domestic or foreign-owned company, is reported as a nation's GDP.
* most commonly used estimator of the true performance of an economy given that it measures income, not wealth.
* estimates the flow of economic activity within a country, not simply its stock of productive assets
* assesses economic environments in which the output of the multinational sector is a significant share of total activity.
* GDP + income generated from exports, imports, and the international operations of a nation's companies = GNI
The usefulness of GNI, GNP, and GDP can be adjusted for the rate of economic growth, size of the population, and purchasing power of the local currency.