Key Terms

Key  Terms

Gross domestic product (GDP): An estimate of the total value of all materials, foodstuffs, goods and services that a country produces in one year. As GDP is a measure of commodities, the figure for each country is divided by the total population of the country in order to get the per capita.

Gross national income (GNI): A measure of the income that flows into a country from production no matter where in the world companies from that country may be operating.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): An international economic organization with the mission to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.

Purchasing power parity (PPP): A tool that calculates how much the local currency of a country can buy locally (i.e., what you can buy with CAD 20 Canada compared with its equivalent in Colombia.

Quality of life (QOL): A measure of the general well-being of individuals and societies, using the indicators of income, wealth, employment, the built environment, physical and mental health, education, social belonging and leisure time. QOL is used as a measurement in many fields including international development, healthcare, politics and employment.