The Problem with GDP
September 27, 2015 | Updated at September 27, 2017
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Email The Problem with GDP: Is GDP a reliable measure of the economy and a country's well-being?
GDP is a big deal. Public spending targets around the world are linked to it; Indonesia has a 15 year economic plan based on it; and it is one of the primary indicators used by investors.
Gross domestic product (GDP), over the last few decades, has become a proxy for economic progress, being used to measure not just economic output, but also the health of nations, with governments rising and falling based on the release of these numbers. Economists are also gushing in their praise. Nobel Laureate, Paul Samuelson, describes GDP as “truly among the great inventions of the 20th century, a beacon that helps policymakers steer the economy toward key economic objectives”.
