ABSTRACT
In the previous chapters we have seen how the Singapore GPI has hardly grown from the early 1990s, while the Hong Kong GPI has continued growing, probably because it has been able to use its proximity to China to its advantage. In Chapter 7 we have also seen that most countries have experienced a drop in GPI per capita since the early 1980s, as the social and environmental costs associated with economic growth outstrip the economic benefits (Table 7.1). The dropping – or slowing – GPI calls for alternative economic policies to these of the neoclassical economic growth model, which states that more economic growth is always better than less. In this chapter we introduce the alternative model proposed by the Steady State Economy (SSE) school. We do not have sufficient space to give an exhaustive review of the arguments put forward within the SSE school, so we give a short introduction and summarize the main points. Our goal is not that of recommending specific reforms. How national economies should be reorganized, so as to attempt to increase welfare rather than economic output, should be the subject of a nationwide debate, as different options are available, and there is a need to fine-tune them according to the conditions of each particular locale. Our goal is that of raising some points that may contribute to that debate.
