Why does GDP include imputations?
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a comprehensive measure of the nation’s production. In order to be comprehensive, it must include some goods and services that are not traded in the market place. Those components of the GDP are called imputations. Examples include the services of owner-occupied housing, financial services provided without charge, and the treatment of employer-provided health insurance. Imputations approximate the price and quantity that would be obtained for a good or service if it was traded in the market place. The largest imputation in the GDP accounts is that made to approximate the value of the services provided by owner-occupied housing. That imputation is made so that the treatment of owner-occupied housing in the GDP is comparable to that of tenant-occupied housing, which is valued by rent paid. That practice keeps GDP invariant as to whether a house is owner-occupied or rented. In the GDP, the purchase of a new house is treated as an investment; the ownership o
