The Wellbeing of Nations: Meaning, Motive and Measurement

3 Recent developments: Towards economic, social and environmental accounts

All progress is based upon a universal innate desire on the part of every organism to live beyond its income.

Samuel Butler (1835–1902, from his Note-books, Life)

In this chapter, we review recent developments relating to the measurement of national wellbeing, and to the use of these measures in pursuing better lives, sustainable development and the eradication of poverty. It is a story of ongoing developments. While there appears to be greater interest in wider measures, and in using these measures, it is still early days in the consolidation of an agreed and widely used measurement system. There are not yet many countries where the prominence of national accounts, and the headline measure of GDP in particular, appears to have changed in political and public discourse. Bhutan is one example frequently quoted and we will look at that. The Government of the Republic of Colombia is also on record as pursuing peace and progress through ‘economic development with social justice and in harmony with the environment … social development with equality and well-being’ (Scott, 2012).

We describe this chapter as moving towards a series of accounts because we detect a number of developments that aim to provide a set of information about wellbeing and progress, rather than a single number (GDP). Of course, GDP is but part of a system of national accounts, and we realise that the other developments do not yet have ...