When government statisticians gather and analyze data on the purchases of goods and services produced in the domestic economy, they are measuring GDP using the expenditure-accounting method.
The Gross Domestic Product of any country can be calculated using the expenditure method of accounting. The result from this method is the summation of the investments, spending of consumers, expenditure incurred by the government and the net exports of the country. The aggregate demand will be equal to the GDP equation in longer run.
Income approach can be considered as an alternative method for this expenditure accounting method. It calculates GDP by subtracting the imports of the country from the added values of consumption, investment, government expenditure and the net exports. When the statisticians of government gather and analyze data on the purchases of goods and services produced in the domestic economy, they are measuring GDP using the expenditure-accounting method.
