[Aperocky]

> GDP per capita is a yardstick for labor productivity.

Or how much oil will gush out of the ground if you drill a hole in the right place.

[hammock]

>drill a hole

>labor

I believe you are saying the same thing

[myownpetard]

Only if the value of a hole of equivalent dimensions is constant and independent of location.

There's a whole Disney movie that demonstrates not all holes are created equal.

[PeterisP]

Well no, the whole point of measuring country differences in labor productivity is that in some countries spending x hours to drill a hole in the ground is vastly more productive than in others.

[myownpetard]

The point here is that, if we want to use GDP as a proxy for labor productivity, then including wealth from extractive industries isn’t that useful because it tells us much more about the geology of the country then about the labor force.