History's Hockey Stick: A Metaphor for Growth
The 'history's hockey stick' is a metaphor derived from the shape of the sports equipment. A physical hockey stick is defined by its form: a long, mostly straight shaft that ends in a sharp upward curve. This distinct shape is used to visually represent a graphical pattern where a long period of stagnation is followed by a sudden and steep increase. In economics, this metaphor is frequently used to illustrate historical growth in metrics like GDP per capita.
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Introduction to Microeconomics Course
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Ch.1 Prosperity, inequality, and planetary limits - The Economy 2.0 Microeconomics @ CORE Econ
Related
Latin American Growth
China's Economic Decline
India's Progress in Living Standards and Persistent Poverty (14th Century to Present)
Living Standards Visualization: Pre-1800 Limitations
Figure 1.1: The History's Hockey Stick Graph of GDP Per Capita
Examples Using GDP in the 20th C
Comparing GDP Per Capita Levels and Growth Rates Across Nations
Intra-Country vs. Inter-Country Inequality in the 14th-17th Centuries
Examples Using GDP to Calculate National Economic Growth 1000-2000CE
Britain's Early and Gradual 'Hockey Stick' Kink
Japan's Sharp 'Hockey Stick' Kink around 1870
History's Hockey Stick: A Metaphor for Growth
Impact of Income Inequality on Wellbeing with Constant Average Income
Correlation between GDP Per Capita and Other Wellbeing Measures
Correlation
GDP Per Capita Data from Our World in Data
Assessing Statements about GDP Per Capita
Correlation Between GDP Per Capita and CO2 Emissions Per Capita
Annual Hours of Free Time and Income per Worker (2020) [Figure 3.2]
Evaluating Living Standards with GDP Per Capita
Two countries, Country X and Country Y, are reported to have the exact same GDP per capita. Based only on this single piece of information, which of the following conclusions is the most logically sound?
An economist is comparing two countries, Country Alpha and Country Beta, which have the same population size. Country Beta has a 20% higher total economic output than Country Alpha. However, further research shows that Country Alpha has a significantly higher average life expectancy and its citizens report higher levels of life satisfaction. What does this scenario most clearly illustrate about using the average income per person as a measure of living standards?
Imagine a country where, over the course of one year, the total market value of all final goods and services produced increases by 5%. During that same year, the country's total population also increases by 5%. Based on this information alone, what is the most likely impact on the average income per person?
Interpreting Average Income Data
If a country's total economic output per person increases by 10% in a year, it can be concluded that the average take-home pay for an employed person in that country has also increased by approximately 10%.
Analyzing Economic Growth and Citizen Welfare
A country's government implements a policy that causes many highly profitable, foreign-owned corporations to officially register their business there. This action significantly boosts the country's total recorded economic output. However, these corporations employ very few local citizens, and the vast majority of the profits are distributed to shareholders living in other countries. The nation's population size does not change. What is the most likely immediate effect on this country's primary measure of average income per person?
Evaluating Economic Policy Goals
Country Lumina has a total annual economic output valued at $20 trillion and a population of 1 billion people. Country Solara has a total annual economic output valued at $2 trillion and a population of 20 million people. Based solely on this information, which statement most accurately compares the probable average living standards in these two nations?
Formula for GDP Per Capita
Delayed Economic Growth in China and India Until Post-Colonial Independence
GDP's Neglect of Environmental Wellbeing
Catch-Up Growth of 'Latecomer' Economies: India and China
Limitations of GDP Per Capita as a Measure of Well-being
The Challenge of Separating Quantity and Price Effects in Economic Comparisons
Challenges in Measuring Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Learn After
Capitalism, Causation, and History’s Hockey Stick
An economic historian presents a graph showing a country's average income per person over the last millennium. For the first 800 years, the data forms a long, nearly flat line near the bottom of the graph. In the last 200 years, the line bends sharply upward in a steep, sustained climb. Based on the shape of this data, what is the most accurate interpretation of this country's economic history?
Interpreting Historical Economic Growth Patterns
Applying the Growth Metaphor
Explaining the 'Hockey Stick' Growth Pattern
The 'hockey stick' metaphor for historical growth illustrates a consistent, gradual increase in living standards over many centuries.
A graph shaped like a 'hockey stick' is often used to represent a specific pattern of historical change, characterized by a long period of near-stagnation followed by a sudden, sharp, and sustained increase. Which of the following scenarios would be most accurately depicted by such a graph?
Match each description of a historical data pattern with the most appropriate term.
The 'hockey stick' metaphor describes a historical pattern characterized by a long period of near-stagnation followed by a sudden, sharp, and sustained upward surge. Which of the following global trends, if plotted over the last millennium, would be LEAST likely to display this specific shape?
When using the 'hockey stick' metaphor to describe historical economic growth, what do the two distinct parts of the stick—the long, flat shaft and the short, sharply curved blade—represent?
A graph depicting global average living standards over the last 1,000 years shows a long, flat line for the first 800 years, followed by a sharp, steep upward curve in the last 200. What does the 'bend' or 'kink' in this shape most significantly represent?