ABSTRACT
This chapter presents some alternatives to national accounting that address some questions and reflect growing awareness of the importance of social and environmental contexts of economic activity. It explores listing some of the limitations of gross domestic product (GDP) as a measure of well-being and discusses how the alternative indicators attempt to tackle these limitations. “Gross domestic product has become the most watched and most misinterpreted of all economic indicators. Government programs and investments in technology get the green light only when they are predicted to spur GDP growth. Economists, bankers, and businesspeople pop the champagne corks when they hear ‘good news’ about quarterly GDP numbers. The US Bureau of Economic Analysis uses dollar-denominated satellite accounts to highlight certain existing components of GDP. The Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi Commission defined eight dimensions of well-being, including material living standards, health, education, work and personal activities, political voice, social connections, economic and physical security or insecurity, and the environment.
