Oulton, Nicholas (2012) Hooray for GDP! Centre for Economic Performance occasional papers (CEPOP30). London School of Economics and Political Science. Centre for Economic Performance, London, UK.
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Abstract
Should raising the growth rate of GDP per capita be a policy goal of governments in general, and of the British government in particular? Many people would say no, for the following reasons: 1) GDP is hopelessly flawed as a measure of welfare; 2) Growing GDP is pointless since most people don’t benefit; 3) Raising GDP per capita is pointless as it doesn't make people any happier; and 4) The planet is finite, so further growth of GDP (at least in rich countries) is not feasible anyway. I discuss and reject all four of these objections. I urge the LSE Growth Commission to focus its efforts on policies to increase the growth rate of GDP per capita in the medium and long run.
| Item Type: | Monograph (Report) |
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| Official URL: | http://cep.lse.ac.uk/ |
| Additional Information: | © The Author |
| Divisions: | Centre for Economic Performance |
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory |
| JEL classification: | D - Microeconomics > D6 - Welfare Economics > D63 - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E6 - Macroeconomic Policy Formation, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, Macroeconomic Policy, and General Outlook > E61 - Policy Objectives; Policy Designs and Consistency; Policy Coordination O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O4 - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity > O47 - Measurement of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output (Income) Convergence |
| Date Deposited: | 23 Nov 2012 10:20 |
| Last Modified: | 15 Sep 2023 22:20 |
| URI: | http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/47498 |
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