One of my kids got a degree in economics from Yale. I think he agrees with you more than you know. Part of the problem is accurate records. Everyone is lying. When you need to qualify for a mortgage the house is worth a million. When the tax appraisal arrives you claim the same house is worth $600,000. This nonsense invades every aspect of our economies, worldwide. Black markets hide an unknown amount of activity, as well.. We need better measurement tools to even know what we are talking about.