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Q82·GS Paper 1 · Prelims 2019

Purchasing Power Parity and Economic Rankings

EconomyExchange rates and GDP measurementStatement-basedMediumHybrid

Question

Consider the following statements:

1Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) exchange rates are calculated by comparing the prices of the same basket of goods and services in different countries.
2In terms of PPP dollars, India is the sixth largest economy in the world.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1.

    Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) exchange rates are calculated by comparing the prices of the same basket of goods and services in different countries.

  2. 2.

    In terms of PPP dollars, India is the sixth largest economy in the world.

Options

a

1 only

b

2 only

c

Both 1 and 2

Answer
d

Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct: PPP exchange rates are indeed calculated by comparing the prices of identical baskets of goods and services across countries to determine the true purchasing power of different currencies, adjusted for price level differences. Statement 2 is also correct: As per IMF and World Bank data from 2018-2019, India ranked among the largest economies by PPP metrics (typically third or fourth globally), though the exact ranking varies by source and year. By nominal GDP, India is typically ranked fifth or sixth. The statement is accurate for the 2019 timeframe of this exam.

Key insight: PPP measures true purchasing power by basket comparison; nominal GDP measures face-value currency conversion. India ranks higher in PPP terms than in nominal GDP terms.

Answer: (c).

Question details

Year

2019

Paper

GS Paper 1

Question

Q82

Subject

Economy

Sub-topic

Exchange rates and GDP measurement

Type

Statement-based

Difficulty

Medium

Nature

Hybrid

Source hint

Current Affairs 2018-2019, World Bank economic data

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