§ Mr. Thorntonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give figures at constant prices for the United Kingdom, France, West Germany and Italy for each of the last 10 years—(or as near as such figures are available)—of the gross domestic product of those countries.
§ Mr. BiffenFigures of the gross domestic product at constant market prices for the United Kingdom, France, West Germany and Italy in each year up to 1978 are given on page 158 of "National Accounts ESA—Aggregates 1960—1978", published by the Statisitcal Office of the European Communities (SOEC). The figures are shown at 1975 prices and have been converted to a common unit of valuation on the basis of 1975 purchasing power parities. Purchasing power parities provide a more satisfactory basis for converting GDP estimates expressed in national currencies into a common unit of measurement than exchange rates since the latter do not necessarily reflect the relative domestic purchasing power of different currencies. Figures based on exchange rates are, however, given in the above publication, expressed in EUAs'—European units of account; the relevant pages are 97, 101, 105 and 121.
Member countries have provided SOEC with data for 1979. These are shown below, together with revised figures for 1978.
Gross domestic product at 1975 prices 000 million Purchasing power standards EUAs 1978 1979 1978 1979 United Kingdom 243.3 246.3 202.6 204.5 France 280.9 289.7 304.5 314.3 West Germany 338.9 353.5 379.2 396.1 Italy 205.3 215.0 171.4 179.9