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The world definitevely needs to move past GDP as key metric to evaluate success of a nation.
by harperlee 8y ago
The world definitevely needs to move past GDP as key metric to evaluate success of a nation.
- tzfld 8y agoIt is a metric of success of an economy. And it's pretty good at that.
- jobigoud 8y agoMost natural disasters ultimately increase GDP and are good for the economy. It's a weird metric.
- refurb 8y agoDisasters increase GDP? How? The money spent rebuilding a country is money not spent on other things.
- selectodude 8y agoInsurance pays to rebuild, they’re using money that is not part of GDP and adding it to GDP.
- refurb 8y agoSure insurance money is a part of GDP. It’s either premiums paid or sitting as an investment that needs to be liquidated to generate funds.
- jobigoud 8y ago> The money spent rebuilding a country is money not spent on other things Money is created when needed (loans, etc.), it's not a zero-sum game. Money is invested in depolluting, rebuilding roads, etc. That contributes to the GDP, sometimes more than the destruction impaired production. For example rebuilding roads after an earthquake creates many jobs.
- cwperkins 8y agoWhat does this contribute exactly to conversation about this topic? Most people when evaluating success of a country take into account a slurry of values such as GDP, Life Expectancy, GDP Per Capita (more important than GDP IMO), Unemployment, Fertility, Education, Income Inequality. Take a look at the OECD data sheet for the United States: https://data.oecd.org/united-states.htm https://data.oecd.org/united-states.htm. Comments like this just scream America hating and serve to inflame, they don't contribute to a substantive conversation.
- harperlee 8y agoIt is not America hating, as this is not just an issue for US. Sorry if it sounded that way. You are right in that there are more indicators already defined, but you don’t see presidents boasting these figures - and even press and newspapers focus way more on economy and GDP. It’s simply more important in most heads, in my opinion, and this whould change (again my opinion!)
- nickbauman 8y agoIndeed the third world growth metric under the developed world's tutelage is where you double the GDP and triple the poverty rate...
- nyghtly 8y agoAgreed. In that vein, one of the most troubling metrics I see for the U.S. infant mortality: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/09/29/our-infant-mortality-rate-is-a-national-embarrassment/?utm_term=.4173b8751e2d https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/09/29/our-i...