2. Our definition of Beyond GDP
indicators…
“those indicators and indicator sets that have
been proposed as necessary and central to
the measurement of societal progress in a
broad sense, other than those indicators,
such as GDP or the unemployment rate, that
are already playing this role.”
BRAINPOoL WP1 report
3. It is a response to a real and to
a measurement problem…
• There is a bias in policy making towards striving for GDP growth that
may make resolving critical political problems more difficult, e.g.
– How do we improve lives in an era of low growth and squeezed finance?
– How do we create good jobs for people?
– How do we reduce inequality?
– How do we avoid political extremism?
– How do we deal with climate change and other threats to sustainability?
• This bias is exacerbated by the prominence of the metric itself
– The ability to maximise GDP growth defines ‘economic competence’
– Perceptions of ‘economic competence’ drive elections
– Therefore particularly strong incentives to maximise GDP
4. …resulting in two
interdependent challenges
• Adoption of a new headline measure of progress (or a small set of
such measures)
– This can balance GDP and thus indicate a more balanced political programme
• Moves towards a more balanced political programme
– The effective management of trade offs leading to better quality growth (equitable,
sustainable, high well-being)
Prima facie, BRAINPOoL is about the first of these, but they are
interdependent: headline measures drive policy but real policy
implications make indicators salient.
5. The real and measurement problem just
defined focuses the discussion – as
illustrated in the following charts
6. The bias to GDP maximisation as
means to increasing well-being…
Policy
Intervention
Growth
Well-being
7. …will not be corrected by parallel
objectives, which already exist…
Economic
Policy
Growth
Well-being as
understood by
economics
depts
Other Policy
Interventions
Social/
environmental
objectives
Well-being as
understood by
other policy
depts
8. …as do the relevant indicators…
Economic
Policy
GDP
Other Policy
Interventions
Social/
environmental
indicators
9. …but by a more integrated
policy process
Policy
Intervention
GDP
‘Beyond
GDP’
indicators
Well-being –
now and future
(sustainability)
10. …allowing policy makers to
target good quality growth…
“Whatever policy objectives you have, you should set them into
an integrated policy framework which has as an overarching goal
the increase in people’s well-being” , OECD Researcher
Policy
Intervention
↑ GDP
↑
‘Beyond
GDP’
indicators
↑
Well-being –
now and future
11. …not bad quality growth
Policy
Intervention
↑ GDP
↓
‘Beyond
GDP’
indicators
↓
Well-being –
now and future
12. …and in some instances to
sacrifice growth.
Policy
Intervention
↓ GDP
↑
‘Beyond
GDP’
indicators
↑
Well-being –
now and future
