GDP per capita is treated as a useful quick guide with limits as a measure of national economic strength. The Britain-Mississippi comparison illustrates the problem: higher output per person does not establish which economy is larger in total. Population and the scale of the whole economy remain relevant to that second question. A per-person figure therefore needs context before it becomes an argument about a state's overall economic capacity.
Notable Point · 39:37-41:10
GDP per person and total economic capacity answer different questions
A Britain-Mississippi comparison distinguishes output per person from the total resources represented by an economy.