The expenditure method is the most common way to calculate GDP. You add what consumers spend, what businesses spend, what the government spends and net exports. Net exports is exports minus imports. To find out America’s net exports, you’d look at the difference between goods shipped from the US to other countries and goods shipped from other countries to the US.

The equation for calculating GDP with the expenditure method looks like this:

Y = C + I + G + NX

In this equation, Y stands for a nation’s GDP, C is consumer spending, I is investments made by businesses, G is government spending and NX is net exports. A nation’s GDP is usually measured in that nation’s own currency. However, GDP amounts can be converted, or changed, into any currency using the exchange rate.

In the United States, GDP is most often measured in

A
US dollars.

B
Mexican pesos.

C
Chinese renminbis.

D
an international currency.