This is stunning: Nearly half of the Q1 decline in GDP can be attributed to healthcare, which is presumably delaying of elective procedures.
It's a strange reality that in the midst of a pandemic, we have a healthcare-led recession.
It's a strange reality that in the midst of a pandemic, we have a healthcare-led recession.
Perhaps this points to problems in GDP.
We stopped elective procedures to preserve capacity for covid patients. Creating covid capacity is productive and important.
If the government had paid hospitals to do this, it would count toward GDP. It didn't, so it doesn't count as GDP
We stopped elective procedures to preserve capacity for covid patients. Creating covid capacity is productive and important.
If the government had paid hospitals to do this, it would count toward GDP. It didn't, so it doesn't count as GDP
I've dug a bit deeper into this, and it appears that the decline in healthcare was driven somewhat more by a decline in physician services ("visiting your doctor") than by the hospital sector.
