§ Mr. Leeasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report figures comparing gross domestic product per capita, at current prices, of each member state of the European Community in each of the years 1979 to 1982.
§ Mr. BrittanThe latest available figures are for 1981. Estimates for 1979, 1980 and 1981 of gross domestic product per capita, at current prices, converted to United States dollars using market rates of exchange are given in table 21 on page 86 of the OECD's "National Accounts, Volume 1, 1952–1981", a copy of which is in the Library Corresponding estimates converted by means of purchasing power parities are given in table 2 on page 98 of the same publication.
It is well recognised that the use of market exchange rates to convert estimates of gross domestic product from national currencies to a common unit of measurement can give very misleading results because exchange rates do not necessarily reflect the relative purchasing powers of the national currencies in terms of the goods and services available in the countries being compared. A more realistic comparison is obtained by using purchasing power parities.