GDP figures are "under almostconstant revision", saysThe Economist, and the processcan last decades. In 1960, theofficial UK figure for growthin 1959 was 2.7%; in 2012, 18revisions later, it was 4.7%.
So it's no wonder that therehave been some substantialchanges to quarterly GDPgrowth figures in the G7 statessince 1994 three years afterthe preliminary estimate.
Thenew figures usually show thatthe economic expansion wasbetter than first assumed,except in the US, where the firststab is generally too optimistic.The biggest changes, up ordown, have been seen in Japan.
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