A dataset combining historical estimates of GDP from the three main sources
that publish them: the Maddison Project, the Penn World Tables, and the World
Bank. Economic data on GDP per capita comes from several sources: the Maddison
project (Maddison 2013), the Penn World Tables versions 8 and 8.1 (Feenstra and
Timmer 2013), the World Bank's Development Indicators (
http://data.worldbank.org/), and a dataset of extended GDP values by
Kristian Gleditsch (Gleditsch 2002). The original data for the Maddison project
is available at http://www.ggdc.net/maddison/maddison-project/home.htm;
the Penn World Tables (all versions) are available at
http://www.ggdc.net/pwt; and the Gleditsch dataset is available at
http://privatewww.essex.ac.uk/~ksg/exptradegdp.html. These are bundled
into a single dataset with information about the source and the type of GDP
estimate; it is worth noting that these estimates sometimes differ
substantially (see
http://abandonedfootnotes.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-mismeasure-of-growth_28.html),
and they must be used with some care. For a quick guide to the different types
of measures, see the helpful chart at the Penn World Table website:
http://www.ggdc.net/pwt.
economic_data
An object of class tbl_df (inherits from tbl, data.frame) with 124925 rows and 10 columns.
Variable descriptions
- country_name
- Standardized country name. This is the same
across all datasets in this package, so you can always join them by
country_name and year. Character with 207 distinct values. Most common:
Italy/Sardinia (1045), Sweden (1043), United Kingdom (1051). NAs = 0.
- GWn
- Gleditsch-Ward numeric country code. See Gleditsch and Ward (1999).
Numeric. Max = 990, min = 2, distinct = 207, mean = 436.027, sd = 247.823, NAs
= 0.
- year
- Year. Numeric. Max = 2014, min = 1, distinct = 233, mean =
1982.071, sd = 35.064, NAs = 0.
- in_system
- Whether the country-year is in the Gleditsch-Ward system of
states. See Gleditsch and Ward (1999). Logical. TRUE = 117377, FALSE = 7548,
NAs = 0.
- variable
- The particular source and type of estimate of GDP. These range
from the "expenditure side" estimate (using chained Purchasing Power Parities,
2005 US$) from PWT 8.1 to Maddison's real per capita estimate using 1990
international Gheary-Khamis dollars, so they are not strictly comparable (even
if they are highly correlated). Factor with 15 levels. Most common: PWT 8.1:
Expenditure side, (chained PPPs, 2005 US$) (8142), PWT 8.1: Output side
(chained PPPs, 2005 US$) (8142), PWT 8.1: Expenditure side (current PPPs, 2005
US$) (8142), PWT 8.1: National-accounts growth rates (2005 US$) (8142), PWT
8.1: Real consumption of households and government (current PPPs, 2005 US$)
(8142), Maddison 2013: Real GDP per capita (1990 Geary-Khamis dollars) (13275),
Gleditsch (9627). NAs = 0.
- value
- The value of the GDP estimate (check variable for specifics).
Numeric. Max = 13956527, min = 52.704, distinct = 123571, mean = 153014.074, sd
= 688291.172, NAs = 0.
- per_capita
- Per capita estimate of GDP. This sometimes differs from value
if value is a whole economy estimate (not per capita). Numeric. Max =
632239.505, min = 68.567, distinct = 123682, mean = 8018.621, sd = 12785.183,
NAs = 0.
- primary_source
- The primary source of the estimate. There are five
sources: Maddison; Penn World Tables (8.1 and 8.0); Gleditsch (in turn based on
PWT 8.0, with interpolations and adjustments); and the World Bank. Character
with 5 distinct values. Most common: Maddison (13275), PWT8.0 (40690), PWT8.1
(48851). NAs = 0.
- origin
- Origin of the estimate. (Relevant primarily for Gleditsch's
estimates, which combine several sources). Character with 17 distinct values.
Most common: Maddison (13275), PWT 8.0 (40690), PWT 8.1 (48851). NAs = 0.
- per_capita_growth
- Per capita growth since previous data point in
country. This is log growth: log(per_capita at t) - log(per_capita at t-1).
Numeric. Max = 3.082, min = -2.094, distinct = 121211, mean = 0.02, sd = 0.086,
NAs = 2566.
References
Feenstra, Robert Inklaar, Robert C., and Marcel P. Timmer. 2013. "The Next
Generation of the Penn World Table." Dataset. http://www.ggdc.net/pwt
Gleditsch, Kristian S. & Michael D. Ward. 1999. "Interstate System Membership:
A Revised List of the Independent States since 1816." International
Interactions 25: 393-413. The list can be found at
http://privatewww.essex.ac.uk/~ksg/statelist.html
Gleditsch, Kristian Skrede. 2002. "Expanded Trade and GDP Data." Journal of
Conflict Resolution 46 (5): 712-24. doi:10.1177/0022002702046005006.
The Maddison Project. 2013. "The Maddison Project." Dataset.
http://www.ggdc.net/maddison/maddison-project/home.htm
See also
Other economic data: population_data,
swiid_summary_5