Broken Abacus?

Until recently a lack of precision around Chinas economic size was taken for granted but caused little lost sleep: room to expand and the pace of growth were self-evident, and everything beyond that was academic for most purposes. But today the pace and even direction of Chinas growth is prone to volatility, and the nation is sizable enough to cause global disruption. This study reassesses Chinas nominal economic size from the bottom up. It compares Chinas practices with international standards and reviews the long-standing arguments about Chinese economic statistics to separate real concerns from distractions.