Economics, 3rd Edition

Principle 8: An Economy’s Standard of Living Depends  

on its Ability to Produce Goods and Services

Table 1.1 shows 

gross domestic product per capita (head)

 of the population in a number of selected 

countries expressed in U.S. dollars. It is clear that many of the advanced economies have a relatively high 

income per capita; in Norway it is an enviable 

$98,102, the Netherlands $50,087 and Germany $43,689.

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10  PART 1  INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMICS 

Not surprisingly, this large variation in average income is reflected in various other measures of the 

quality of life and