True or false: Sales of second-hand goods are included in GDP

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The question asks us to evaluate whether sales of second-hand goods are included in GDP.
Option 1: True. This statement would imply that every sale of a used item adds to GDP directly. In macroeconomics, however, GDP measures the market value of all final goods and services newly produced within a period. Used goods were produced in a prior period, so their resale does not constitute new production in the current period. Therefore, counting second-hand sales as part of GDP would overstate current output.
Option 2: False. This statement aligns with the standard rule that second-hand/used goods are not counted in GDP because they were produced in the past. The value of these transactions does not reflect fresh output, and GDP captures only new production within the measurement window. Some related activities, like services from brokers or the resale of a used item through an intermediary, do not create new final goods or services themselves, so they typically don’t enter GDP as new production either.
In summary, the key idea is that GDP tracks new, domestically produced final goods and services in the current period, and second-hand sales represent transfers of ownership of existing goods rather than new production. Thus, second-hand goods sales are not included in GDP.

MUF0062 Economics Unit 2 - Semester 2, 2025 Video and quick quiz: Measuring Gross Domestic Product (10 - 12 minutes)

True or false: Sales of second-hand goods are included in GDP

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