US GDP gap since 1975[1]US potential (light) and actual (bold) GDP estimates from the Congressional Budget Office in January 2009. The difference between the two represents the GDP gap.[2]IMF estimates of the 2009 output gaps as % of GDP by country
The GDP gap or the output gap is the difference between actual GDP or actual output and potential GDP, in an attempt to identify the current economic position over the business cycle. The measure of output gap is largely used in macroeconomic policy (in particular in the context of EU fiscal rules compliance). The GDP gap is a highly criticized notion, in particular due to the fact that the potential GDP is not an observable variable, it is instead often derived from past GDP data, which could lead to systemic downward biases.[3][4][5][6]