Use the data on real GDP in the following table to answer
the questions. The values are measured in billions of each
country’s domestic currency. The base year for Mexico is
2008, the base year for Panama is 2007, and the base year
for Thailand is 2002.
a. Which country experienced the highest rate of economic growth during 2014 (that is, which country
experienced the highest rate of growth of real GDP
from 2013 to 2014)?
b. Which country experienced the highest average
annual growth rate between 2014 and 2016?
c. Does it matter for your answers to parts (a) and (b) that
each country’s real GDP is measured in a different currency and uses a different base year? Briefly explain.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database, April 2017.