Martian2
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Putting IMF's PPP GDP to the test
We have three important charts with data from BP, the World Bank, and Nature Publications.
From BP, we know China is the world's largest consumer of energy.
From the World Bank, we know China is the world's largest exporter of high-tech products.
From Nature Publications, we know China is the world's second-largest producer of quality scientific research.
It stands to reason that China is the world's largest economy as shown by the IMF PPP GDP chart. China's technology level is close to the United States. Since China consumes the most energy, it produces the most total goods and services.
It is a very different story when we evaluate whether India is truly the world's third-largest economy (as indicated by the IMF PPP GDP chart).
Though India is the world's fourth-largest consumer of energy, it doesn't measure up in value-added high-tech exports. India falls outside of the Top 7 in high-tech exports. This means the Indian economy does not produce a lot of high-value goods. Also, India is not part of the Top 7 Nature Index. This means the level of Indian science and technology is on the low side.
If India had science and technology equal to China then it would indeed deserve to be ranked as the world's third-largest economy (per IMF PPP GDP chart). However, India exports few high-tech goods. Also, India is not a science research power.
Since China exports five-axis CNC machine tools and India exports mangoes, we have to adjust the GDP comparison for the two countries. If Indian and Chinese technology and science were the same, the Indian GDP would be proportional to the level of energy consumption. This means India would be about 1/5 of the Chinese economy. China consumes about 3,000 Million Tonnes Oil Equivalent (MTOEs) and India consumes about 600 MTOEs per year (3,000/600 = 5:1).
Since China's technology (see World Bank chart on leading high-tech exporters) and science (see Nature Index) are far superior to India's, we have to multiply China's "effective" GDP by 1.5 or 2 when comparing it to India. This is the machine tools vs. mangoes multiplier effect. Since machine tools are far more valuable than mangoes, China's GDP must be scaled up accordingly.
In conclusion, China's real GDP should be 7.5 to 10 times larger than India's current GDP. The IMF PPP GDP chart claims that China's GDP is only about 2.5 times larger than India's. This is clearly erroneous and there is something seriously wrong with the IMF methodology or data collection in India.
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We have three important charts with data from BP, the World Bank, and Nature Publications.
From BP, we know China is the world's largest consumer of energy.
From the World Bank, we know China is the world's largest exporter of high-tech products.
From Nature Publications, we know China is the world's second-largest producer of quality scientific research.
It stands to reason that China is the world's largest economy as shown by the IMF PPP GDP chart. China's technology level is close to the United States. Since China consumes the most energy, it produces the most total goods and services.
It is a very different story when we evaluate whether India is truly the world's third-largest economy (as indicated by the IMF PPP GDP chart).
Though India is the world's fourth-largest consumer of energy, it doesn't measure up in value-added high-tech exports. India falls outside of the Top 7 in high-tech exports. This means the Indian economy does not produce a lot of high-value goods. Also, India is not part of the Top 7 Nature Index. This means the level of Indian science and technology is on the low side.
If India had science and technology equal to China then it would indeed deserve to be ranked as the world's third-largest economy (per IMF PPP GDP chart). However, India exports few high-tech goods. Also, India is not a science research power.
Since China exports five-axis CNC machine tools and India exports mangoes, we have to adjust the GDP comparison for the two countries. If Indian and Chinese technology and science were the same, the Indian GDP would be proportional to the level of energy consumption. This means India would be about 1/5 of the Chinese economy. China consumes about 3,000 Million Tonnes Oil Equivalent (MTOEs) and India consumes about 600 MTOEs per year (3,000/600 = 5:1).
Since China's technology (see World Bank chart on leading high-tech exporters) and science (see Nature Index) are far superior to India's, we have to multiply China's "effective" GDP by 1.5 or 2 when comparing it to India. This is the machine tools vs. mangoes multiplier effect. Since machine tools are far more valuable than mangoes, China's GDP must be scaled up accordingly.
In conclusion, China's real GDP should be 7.5 to 10 times larger than India's current GDP. The IMF PPP GDP chart claims that China's GDP is only about 2.5 times larger than India's. This is clearly erroneous and there is something seriously wrong with the IMF methodology or data collection in India.
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