Penn World Table 7.0: Are the Data Seriously Flawed?

Breton, Theodore R.

doi:10.2139/ssrn.2010827

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Penn World Table 7.0: Are the Data Seriously Flawed?

10 Pages Posted: 25 Feb 2012 Last revised: 12 Jul 2019

See all articles by Theodore R. Breton

Theodore R. Breton

George Mason University - Department of Economics; Universidad EAFIT - School of Economics and Finance - Center for Research in Economic & Finance (CIEF)

Date Written: February 24, 2012

Abstract

Penn World Table (PWT) 7.0 is the newest PWT data set, based in part on benchmarked prices collected in 2005. In theory the data in PWT 7.0 should be more accurate than the data in PWT 6.3 since 1996 and similar in earlier years. I show that PWT 7.0 GDP/capita and price data for 1970 to 1996 deviate substantially from prior PWT data that are benchmarked to prices for those years. I conclude that overall the PWT 7.0 data are much less accurate than the data in PWT 6.2 and 6.3.

Keywords: Price Indices, Economic Data, Data Measurement, Economic Growth

JEL Classification: O47, E30

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Breton, Theodore R., Penn World Table 7.0: Are the Data Seriously Flawed? (February 24, 2012). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2010827 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2010827