Measurement of a better life needs to surpass GDP limit
September 14, 2022 09:25 Source: "Chinese Social Sciences" September 14, 2022 Total 2491 Author: Our reporter Wang Junmei

So far,GDP growth (GDP) growth is still to measure economic growth、Social progress、Important indicators of government governance effect。But,Since the current economies fail to deal with climate change、Multiple threats brought by the surge in energy costs and the expansion of inequality,Some scholars believe that it is necessary to find different indicators,Rebate and measure social development。For the limitations of the original indicators and whether there are alternative indicators,The reporter of our newspaper interviewed the relevant scholars。

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Simply put,GDP is an indicator for measuring economic scale,That is, all the final products or labor value produced by a country or region within a certain period of time。Paul Allin, Professor Paul Allin in London Empire Institute of Technology, said,Whether it is the dollar、Euro or yen,The total currency will change according to the general rise of prices。But,When measuring the currency value of economic activities,GDP includes many "bad activities" that reduce people's quality of life,Rulai、Pollution、Crime、traffic congestion、Natural disasters, etc.,Such activities may increase GDP,But it does not allow the economy to "success"。At the same time,Social inequality、Workless work、Natural resources or biological diversity dry、Data and digital services value and other factors,but not well reflected in GDP。This is mainly manifested in the following aspects。

First,GDP does not consider the exhaustion of the outside environment and natural capital,This is bet365 best casino games one of the reasons for its controversy。This indicator ignores pollution related to economic activities、Extreme social costs brought by greenhouse gas emissions and production activities。More importantly,Consumption or loss of assets such as natural resources will boost GDP in the short term。But,The potential long -term losses caused by this type of consumption are not calculated。

Next,The new trend of social development further highlights the defects of the GDP indicator。For example,Economic digitalization has changed the way people work and leisure,and the business method of many companies,But these changes are not reflected in the official statistics。How to measure the value of innovative activities has always been difficult,It is difficult to present the price and quantity of the quality and quantity of the quality of the new product or product。Now,Economic digitalization has further improved the difficulty of measurement,Because many digital services are "free" when used,or have public product attributes,or intangible,It is difficult to estimate its value。

Last,GDP as an important indicator of economic growth,but did not systematically explain the income distribution。Under the condition of rising or total GDP,Some people will find that their situation has not improved with it,Even becoming worse。"Poor people are getting poor,The richer the rich "cannot be displayed in GDP。

Based on the above questions,Many alternative indicators of "surpassing GDP" have emerged。But most of these variety of indicators are temporary,People cannot reach a consensus around a new way to measure economic growth,and cannot find an indicator comparable to a single GDP statistical method。Although most people recognize the necessity of "transcending GDP",But if you want to make Bet365 app download meaningful progress,It also needs to reach a comprehensive consensus on the actual content of the new indicators。

  Change is a long process

Although people have already realized the imperfections of GDP,But it takes a long process to really make changes。From a historical perspective,As early as 1934,American economist Margaret Reid indicates in the book "Family Production Economics",When considering economic activities,You need to include the unpaid work in the family。Whether and how to measure the work value of family and informal departments,This problem caused controversy in the 1950s,But until around 2000,Some countries including the UK have begun to create a "resident satellite account",Incorporate the family's unpaid work into consideration。Satellite account is based on the framework of the national economic accounting system,Affiliated accounting system established by some concepts。Introduction of various satellite accounts,Can enhance the flexibility of the accounting system,Analysis function of expanding the national economic accounting system。

Diane Coyle, a professor of public policy at Cambridge University, said,Although there are some well -known limitations,But GDP has always been used as a "tough" standard for measuring economic growth,This aspect is due to the influence of technical bureaucracy,On the other hand, it is dominated by the sociological factors。From the perspective of technical bureaucracy,GDP is convenient and easy to analyze during use,This is many alternative indicators that cannot be surpassed。The authority of GDP comes from its ability to measure the production and output in the economy at the same time、Consumption expenditure and income。The final presentation of this framework seems to be compared directly in different years and between different countries,Bet365 lotto review And all of this is based on a simple and deceptive idea,That is, more economic activities will inevitably bring better life。It is the combination of this technical authority and political practicality,caused people's "path dependence" and "social lock" for GDP。So,People make huge efforts to change。

  Rebcing social progress and good life

Affected by the epidemic of new crown pneumonia,People are eager to have a more fair、Sustainable future。Tim Jackson, a professor of sustainable development at Sarri University in the United Kingdom, said,There are many visions to replace GDP,Rebcing social progress and good life。Economists are increasingly adopting complex system thinking methods,Try to strengthen the understanding of human behavior from society and psychology。For example,Some scholars emphasize the significant impact of morality and cultural values ​​on behavior。

Some indicators are designed to explain the sense of subjective happiness more directly,For example, focusing on measuring people's life satisfaction or happiness。Richard EasterLin, a professor of economics at the University of Southern California, said in an interview,For most people around the world,Happiness is successful in daily life。Happiness may be a supporting family,It can also be kept healthy,Or engaged in an interesting and safe job。This is something people care about,It is also a thing that people think of their ability to control,Therefore, you can compare between crowds。Displaying Happiness data officially collected in different countries,The correlation between happiness and various living environment presents similarity。People with a significant decline in happiness are usually unemployed、Those who do not live with your partner、People with poor health status、Low -ethnic and Bet365 app download educated people。Prove this,Happiness Index is reliable and effective。Istyl thinks,Happiness Index is reliable and effective,and GDP are limited to economic life,That is to measure the output of goods and services。other,The assessment of happiness is made by the person being evaluated,In the indicator system of GDP,The judgment of happiness is completed by the so -called experts such as "outsiders"。

The United Nations is also trying to adjust the indicator of economic prosperity。March 2021,The United Nations member states have adopted a new statistical framework at the meeting of the Statistics Council -the comprehensive environment and economic accounting system (SEEA),Film re -developing policies on sustainable development,Including the contribution to nature into the measurement indicators of economic prosperity and human well -being。Comprehensive environment and economic accounting system as a satellite account system as a national economic accounting system (SNA),Fully consider the impact of environmental factors,and under this premise,Implementation of national economic accounting。This is an important step taken by the United Nations,Beyond the GDP measurement system commonly used in economics。Brief words,There is an inherent logic when constructing a GDP replacement indicator,That is to get a balance between technical stability and social resonance。In the final analysis,On the road leading to sustainable prosperity,It is essential to fully consider the diversified indicators of individual and social welfare。

  Continue to improve the GDP indicator

Henrietta Moore, the founder of the Global Prosperity Institute of the University of London University, said in an interview with this reporter,From the perspective of the 21st century,GDP as a measurement indicator seems to be outdated。If you want to more accurately bet365 best casino games reflect the social and environmental challenges facing the current mankind,You need to surpass the economic level,Use full system methods to accurately measure economic prosperity at the local level,Fully reflect the differences between GDP and collective welfare。Moore was put forward when he gave a speech at the British House of Representatives,After using GDP to measure the economy,It is also supplemented by the "Package Index" released by the quarterly unit,It covers water、Air、Carbon seal、Biological diversity、Social Capital、Health、Factors such as domestic violence,So use the quality of life、Data such as climate change to supplement GDP data。So,You can understand the economy more deeply、Environment and social progress。

The current existing GDP replacement indicator involves the country、International and other levels,For example,Liegtan Global Prosperity Index、United Nations World Happiness Report、inclusive wealth index、American Social Progress Index、Economic Organization Life Index and a series of other multi -dimensional international poverty measurement indicators。But,Moore thinks,In all these indicators,lacks a kind of people -led、Local -based metering method,Therefore, it is difficult to understand the prosperity through these indicators、Welfare and Environmental status in the economy。For example,Although challenges such as climate change are essentially global,But the degree of crisis facing different regions and countries is different,Therefore。

Moore Introduction,The prosperity index formulated by the Global Prosperity Research Institute of the University of London, England provides a new indicator of local priority into decision -making。The most important thing is,This index is together by gathering local participants Bet365 lotto review and related organizations,jointly formulate a solution and track the development of the local level,Provides a overall systemic measurement method based on the specific situation of various places。If people want to really make progress in the face of today's urgent social and environmental challenges,You must cooperate with local and even community,instead of relying on those indicators that are not targeted at the country and international level。

Editor in charge: Chen Jing
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