§ Mr. Michael Marshallasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the United Kingdom's current rate of economic growth; and what are the equivalent figures for other EEC countries, the United States of America, and Japan.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettEconomic growth is normally measured by the percentage change in gross national product—GNP—or in gross domestic products—GDP. In460W the table below, provisional estimates for the percentage increase in GNP or GDP have been expressed as annual rates. The growth rates shown between the years 1975 and 1976 are shown in column 1. Estimates are available for some countries for the latter half of 1976—that is, for growth between the second and fourth quarters, and these are shown in column 2.
Annual rate of growth per cent. Column 1 Column 2 United Kingdom 1¼ 2½ United States of America 6¼ 3 Japan 6½ 2 Italy 6 — Germany 5¾ 4¼ France 5 — Denmark 4½ — Netherlands 3½ — Ireland 3¼ — Belgium 3 — Luxembourg 3 —