Drugs And Prostitutes Help Bring Italy Out Of Recession
Oct 15, 2014, 19:36 IST
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Because the European Union changed the way it calculates GDP to include illegal revenue from things like underground alcohol sales, drugs, and prostitution, Italy found out Wednesday that its 0.1% GDP decline in the first quarter of 2014 was actually flat- or 0.0% - bringing the economy officially out of recession.
The new data confirmed a 0.2% decline in the second quarter, but GDP needs to contract in two consecutive quarters to be in recession.
According to AFP, "Black, or undeclared, market revenues are also expected to help reduce Italy's debt to GDP ratio, which stands at a 132 percent, more than twice the EU ceiling of 60 percent."