U.S. Public Debt vs. GDP

Trends and Comparisons

By Charlie Hutcheson [source]

About this dataset

This dataset contains quarterly data on the US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Total Public Debt from 1947 through 2020. It provides a comprehensive view into the development of debt versus GDP over the years, offering insights into how our economy has grown and changed since The Great Depression. Explore this valuable information to answer questions such as: How do debt and GDP relate to one another? Has US government spending been outpacing wealth throughout history? From what sources does our national debt originate? This dataset can be utilized by economists, governments, researchers, investors, financial institutions, journalists — anyone looking to gain a better understanding of where our economy stands today compared to past decades

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How to use the dataset

This dataset, U.S. GDP vs Debt Over Time, contains quarterly data on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Total Public Debt of the United States between 1947 to 2020. This can be useful for conducting research into how the total public debt relates to economic growth in the US.

The dataset includes 4 columns: Quarter , Gross Domestic Product ($mil), Total Public Debt ($mil). The Quarter column consists of strings that represent each quarter from 1947-2020 with a corresponding number (e.g., “Q1-1947”). The Gross Domestic Product ($mil) and Total Public Debt ($mil) columns consist of numbers that indicate the respective amounts in millions for each quarter during this same time period.

By analyzing this dataset you can explore various trends over different periods as it relates to public debt versus economic growth in America and make informed decisions about how certain policies may affect future outcomes. Additionally, you could also compare these two values with other variables such as unemployment rate or inflation rate to gain deeper insights into America’s economy over time

Research Ideas

• Comparing the quarterly growth in GDP with public debt to show the correlation between economic growth and government spending.
• Creating a bar or line visualization that compares the US’s total public debt to comparable economic powers like China, Japan, and Europe over time.
• Examining how changes in government deficit have contributed towards an increase in public debt by analyzing which quarters saw significant leaps of growth from one year to the next

Acknowledgements

If you use this dataset in your research, please credit the original authors. Data Source

License

License: Dataset copyright by authors - You are free to: - Share - copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially. - Adapt - remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially. - You must: - Give appropriate credit - Provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. - ShareAlike - You must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. - Keep intact - all notices that refer to this license, including copyright notices.

Columns

File: US GDP vs Debt.csv | Column name | Description | |:----------------------------------|:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Quarter | The quarter of the year in which the data was collected. (String) | | Gross Domestic Product ($mil) | The total value of all goods and services produced by the US in a given quarter. (Integer) | | Total Public Debt ($mil) | The total amount owed by the federal government. (Integer) |

Acknowledgements

If you use this dataset in your research, please credit the original authors. If you use this dataset in your research, please credit Charlie Hutcheson.

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