The whole idea of “the economy” as we know it today is still a relatively new phenomenon. In fact, the modern concept of gross domestic product (GDP) as a way to measure economic growth wasn’t developed until the aftermath of the Great Depression. Simon Kuznets, an economist who won the Nobel Prize for his work in this area, put forth a report to Congress in 1934 using a concept called national income to track economic activity. GDP was bourne out of this idea but it wasn’t the standard method used by countries around the globe until the end of WWII. Once economists were able to measure economic output they could go ... (full story)