ABSTRACT
When looked upon in traditional terms of international competitiveness and growth in gross domestic product (GDP), our economies may be performing well. But it is increasingly understood that this is not enough. Sometimes GDP growth goes together with environmental degradation. We hear about China and India, for instance, with growth rates of 8–9 per cent per year that are accompanied by worrying trends in environmental degradation. The success of one country in export markets may furthermore cause unemployment in other countries and increased exports may not even improve employment in the exporting country (as a result of improved labour productivity). Whatever the truth in specific countries, it has become clear for many of us that the performance of an economy has to be measured in multidimensional terms. Monetary indicators, such as GDP, exports, investments at the level of the national economy and monetary profits at the level of the business corporation are still of interest and relevant, but never enough. Limiting attention to monetary indicators can even be considered a dangerous strategy. It is like cutting off the branch one is sitting on by undermining the functioning of life-supporting systems for society at large.
