Measuring Growth and Well-being: Why is GDP flawed and some ideas on how to improve


Hello everyone! I hope you all are having a great time coming up with ideas for the upcoming conference! While you may be well on your way to already identifying some key ideas regarding GDP, I wanted to bring an article to your attention that may benefit you. In an article by the Harvard Business Review, they addressed why GDP is not an accurate measure of well-being. The definition of well-being according to Merriam Webster is, “the state of being happy, healthy, or prosperous.” This can be broken down into individual experience with health and or happiness, which typically leads to high mental and physical health with overall satisfaction with life.

Addressing some of the shortcomings with GDP, in regards to a measurement of well-being, is its inability to accurately determine the state of happiness, life satisfaction, and or well-being within a society since it simply measures the growth of production within an economy. This often leads to skewed concepts of prosperity since a country may have a relatively high GDP while the disproportion in the population leads to major societal struggles occurring. India. One significant finding is that many nations are looking to develop or identify a potential new method of measurement that more accurately depicts the equitability and quality of life of its citizens while also understanding any correlation with good economic standing. Within this article, not only is there a beneficial account of the flaws with GDP but it also addresses a new method of measurement being developed by India. 

According to this article, India has made strides towards this goal by beginning to develop an “Ease of Living Index”, which was spearheaded by their Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. By addressing factors that more directly impact the lives of citizens, officials can more accurately form solutions and policies that positively impact the communities. I find this article beneficial given it addresses how a solution targeted within a specific country to improve their current state can have positive externalities. Overall, this article serves as an overview of the potential flaws of GDP, while also identifying potential trends of improvement and the overall importance of said improvements. (You can read more on this article at https://hbr.org/2019/10/gdp-is-not-a-measure-of-human-well-being)

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