MAIN PROBLEMS WITH CALCULATING GDP AS AN INDICATOR OF ECONOMIC HEALTH OF THE COUNTRY

The article is devoted to discussing the problem with using the gross domestic product (GDP) indicator to assess the level of the country's economic development. The paper reveals the main disadvantages of the methodology for calculating this indicator: inaccurate accounting of changes in the level of increment (depletion) of the national wealth; ignoring the problem of inequitable distribution of value added among countries; exaggeration of GDP due to the imposed consumption; including of the accrued and forming indicators in the GDP; the neglect of labor within the households and the mutual exchange of goods and services; and the neglect of changes in the structure and quality of products when using base price technology. The problems related to calculating GDP by the purchasing power parity and per capita are considered. The possibilities of using GDP as a key macroeconomic indicator are discussed. It is substantiated that high rates of GDP growth do not always point to high efficiency of the country's economic activity. That is why the focus of public authorities mainly on the GDP indicator can damage the economy of the country. The article concludes that it is necessary to expand the range of indicators used to assess the level of development of the national economy, as well as to improve the methodology for calculating the GDP