If real GDP grows by 5 percent per year for three consecutive years then what is the approximate total growth?
Successive annual growth rates compound rather than simply add. Taking the initial real GDP as 1, the value after three years is 1.05 × 1.05 × 1.05 = 1.157625. The total increase is therefore 0.157625, or approximately 15.8 percent. Option A ignores compounding, while C and D overstate the result. Hence option B is the correct approximate answer.