The Penn World Table displays a set of national accounts economic time series covering many countries. Its expenditure entries are denominated in a common set of prices in a common currency so that real quantity comparisons can be made, both between countries and over time. It also provides information about relative prices within and between countries, as well as demographic data and capital stock estimates. This updated, revised, and expanded Mark 5 version of the table includes more countries, years, and variables of interest to economic researchers. The Table is available on personal computer diskettes and through BITNET.

In 1870 the Indian per capita income was about Rs. 30 compared to Rs. 450 for England. Studies of Indian national income show estimates of per capita income which show no gain or a small decline from 1879 to 1970. Estimates of .5% per annum growth seem high in light of recent analyses of Indian history. Indias decline suggests that rapid growth in other areas e.g. Japan Europe and the U.S. has had deleterious effects. The 1871-1911 growth rate was about .7% per year 1911-46 no growth and from 1947-70 about 1% per year. Population growth was 254 million in 1870 305 million in 1920 and 668 million in 1970 for India and Pakistan. Growth of real per capita income in constant prices are estimated at 1.00 in 1870 1.75 in 1970. In the U.S. in the same period the index may have moved from 1.00 to 5.70. Purchasing power estimates put India higher than comparisons based on exchange rates however. As countries grow the productivity in traded goods will tend to decline. The exchange rate is determined by the relative price of traded goods in a year. Since goods in the U.S. are relatively cheap Indias exchange rates look poorer than real terms of purchasing power equities. The perception of the extra resources required to equalize incomes between countries are different and much less when real incomes are compared.

We propose a new approach to the international comparison of real GDP, as measured from the output-side. The traditional Gary-Khamis system, which measures real GDP from the expenditure-side, is modified to include differences in the terms of trade between countries. It is shown that this system has a strictly positive solution under mild assumptions. On the basis of a sample of 151 countries in 1996, it is shown that differences between real GDP measured from the expenditure-side and output-side can be substantial, especially for small open economies. We also obtain cross-country measures of “real openness” and the terms of trade.