[20150129]IF10110_中国作为世界“最大经济体”.pdf

https:/crsreports.congress.gov January 29, 2015China as the Worlds “Largest Economy”Various media have recently reported that China has overtaken the United States to become the worlds largest economy (a position the United States had held at least since 1913), based on estimates of purchasing power parity (PPP) measurements and projections made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). What do these data mean? How should they be interpreted? And what implications, if any, do they have for the United States? What Are PPPs and Why Are They Used? The IMFs World Economic Outlook (WEO) provides comparative economic data and makes economic projections for numerous countries several times a year. These include country measurements of gross domestic product (GDP) converted into U.S. dollars using nominal exchange rates. The October 2014 WEO database estimated U.S. and Chinese nominal GDP for 2013 at $16.8 billion and $9.5 billion, making them the number one and number two largest economies, respectively. The IMF further projected that 2014 nominal GDP for each at $17.4 trillion and $10.4 trillion, respectively. These data would indicate that U.S. GDP is much larger than Chinas (76.8% hig