Question

Use the St. Louis Federal Reserve (FRED) database to find the following:

1. Find U.S. Real Gross Domestic Product per capita. Submit URL

2. Using a time frame for the year (Q4 2018), select the same time frame a year earlier (Q4 2017), FY 18.

3. Compute the change in real GDP per capita for the year in question. That is equal to: (real GDP per capita in 2018 - real GDP per capita in 2017)/(real GDP per capita in 2017).

4. Repeat the same computations for 2015 to 2016, FY 16; and 2016 to 2017, FY 17.

Answer 1

Ans: US Real GDP per capita is $57,581 for Q1 2020.

URL: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/A939RX0Q048SBEA

2. Change in Real GDP per capita from FY 2017 to FY 2018

Change in Real GDP per capita = real GDP per capita in 2018 - real GDP per capita in 2017/ real GDP per capita in 2017

Real GDP per capita in 2018 = $57,336

Real GDP per capita in 2017 = $56,210   

Using the data and putting the values we get:

Change in Real GDP per capita = $57,336 - $56,210/ $56210

= $ 0.02 = 2 per cent.

4. Change in real GDP from 2015 to 2016

Real GDP per capita in 2015: $54,280

Real GDP per capita in 2016: $55,005

Change in real GDP per capita = $55,005 - $ 54,280/ $55005

= $ 0.0131= 1.3 percent

Change in Real GDP per capita from 2016 to 2017

Real GDP per capita in 2017= $56,210

Real GDP per capita in 2016 = $ 55,005

Change in real GDP per capita = $ 56,210 - $55,005/ $ 56210

= $1,205/ $ 56,210

= $ 0.021 = 2.1 per cent