1. What is apparent, it is difficult to measure, how big really is someone's national economy. The CIA Fackbook was using PPP, do not remember if they use both nominal and PPP in the past.
2. The other point discussed later in the article, regarding do we compare only production of goods, those are valid points, but Noah Smith brings up a valid point himself, that the value of the services are important too.
Here, there probably is a lot of subjectivity, just my guess.
Remember looking at internet speeds, and the speed for internet in Inner Mongolia was twice as fast as the UK.
However, we all expect that the price for that internet service in the UK probably 2x to 5x times more expensive than Inner Mongolia.
So, all we can really say here, is that the UK pays more for this service, but they do not get their money's worth, compared to other places. In the GDP figures, it would appear they would be rich because they are over-paying for slow internet.
Here is a video about a UK couple who could not get any medical service back home, but was able to do that MRI in China.
Their reaction tells the whole story. Even in Canada, if it is not an emergency, got to wait maybe two or three months for an ultra-sound, not sure how long a wait for a MRI. And we probably expect that in America, you pay! And pay a lot!
