Please take a look, for example, at http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/eco_gdp
and http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/eco_gro_nat_inc.

 You will see that most industrialized countries are ranked in roughly the same
order in the two tables (GDP and Gross National Income) and report roughly the
same numbers. For example US shows $11.7 Trillion GDP and $9.8 Trillion Gross 
National Income (ranked first in both). Japan shows $3.7 Trillion GDP and $4.5
Trillion Gross National Income (ranked 3-rd and 2-nd). Not so with China. China
shows $7.3 Trillion GDP (ranked 2-nd) but only $1.1 Trillion (7 times less!) in
Gross National Income, thereby ranking 6-th.

 My main question is this: What explains this disparity?  Secondary questions
are as follows. How EXACTLY are these figures computed?  Which (if any) of 
these figures includes exports?  What about factories in China that are owned
by foreigners --- is the value produced by such factories accounted for in the
GDP and Gross National Income figures?

---

Request for Question Clarification by elmarto-ga on 10 Nov 2005 08:28 PST

Hello asvask!
The disparity you found is only apparent. If you check the tables you
supplied, you'll find that GDP is expressed in PPP dollars (a
conversion that allows for comparison among countries with different
domestic prices) while GNI is expressed in actual dollars. Developing
countries (such as China) usually feature low domestic prices, so $1
in these countries buys much more goods than $1 in the US; hence the
large difference between actual and PPP dollars.

If you compare these two variables using the same units, you will find
that GDP and GNI in China are quite similar.

Please let me know if you would still be interested in learning about
the difference between GDP and GNI, which I would post as an answer.

Best regards,
elmarto

---

Clarification of Question by asvask-ga on 13 Nov 2005 03:48 PST

Hello elmarto,

 Thanks for a quick reply. What you're saying sounds reasonable. 
Thanks! However, to qualify as an an answer, I would need:

   a) Precise explanation of how GDP and GNI are computed, 
      including precise definition of PPP dollars;

   b) Answers to the secondary questions (exports, foreign-owned
      companies).

Given this, I'd be most happy to pay the $25.

        
              --Alex