Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the standard measure of the value of final goods and services produced by a country during a period minus the value of imports. While GDP is the single most important indicator to capture economic activity, it should not be looked upon as an all-encompassing measure for societies’ well-being, as it does not include several aspects of people’s material living standards let alone other aspects of people’s quality of life.

Changes in the size of economies are usually measured by changes in the volume (often referred to as real) levels of GDP. Real reflects the fact that changes in GDP due to inflation are removed. This provides a measure of changes in the volume of production of an economy.

Metropolitan areas are the prime engine of growth. A better understanding how cities function offers a unique opportunity to identify solutions for the problems faced by individual cities.

Investment, or to be more precise, gross fixed capital formation, is an important determinant of future economic growth and an essential variable in economic analyses, such as analyses of demand and productivity.

Productivity is a measure of the efficiency with which available resources are used in production. Labour productivity, together with use of labour resources, is one of the main determinants of living standards.

Value added reflects the contribution of labour and capital to production. The sum of value added in the economy equals GDP, so value added is also a measure of output and frequently used in productivity and structural analysis.

Like its nominal counterpart, real value added can be derived as the difference between real output and real intermediate consumption, an approach known as double-deflation.

Small firms, and especially start-ups in specialised sectors, can be very dynamic and innovative. A few very high-performance firms can make an important contribution to employment creation and economic growth. Although the majority of small firms have modest economic impacts individually, taken together they make an important economic and social contribution.