For decades, gross domestic product (GDP) has been the accepted yardstick for measuring a country’s prosperity, despite not placing value on activities such as childcare.
Now, a rival metric, covering “a broader range of economic activities”, has emerged in the UK to offer a more nuanced picture.
Created by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the ‘inclusive income’ data set accounts for many things that GDP is blind to, such as housework, environmental degradation, and ecosystem services. This, says the ONS, provides a measure of a country’s “sustainable income”.
“This is the first year that we’ve got the full complete set of data together, particularly the fall in UK carbon emissions,” Richard Heys, the ONS’s deputy chief economist, told Positive News. “I think it’s quite an important milestone.”
The latest data shows that net inclusive income per person increased by 5% in 2022, compared to a 4.3% rise in GDP. It’s thanks partly to the roll out of renewables, which generate income without exacerbating climate change – a crisis that nations will ultimately have to pay for.
“We want to reflect that actually value is produced in all sorts of places, not just by producing more output,” said Heys. The hope is that the “inclusive income” metric will catch on globally and help policymakers make more informed choices.
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