Science can take the lead in making better measures of economic growth

You have full access to this article via your institution. Harmful impacts of greenhouse-gas emissions, such as those from transport, are not accounted for in GDP. Credit: RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post/Getty “Growth at any cost leaves us all poorer.” Those were the words of United Nations secretary-general António Guterres last week at the launch of a landmark report, Counting What Counts , which he commissioned from a team of researchers and policymakers ( www.un.org/beyondgdp ). It proposes how countries can move beyond gross domestic product (GDP), the world’s main indicator for the health of economies. How to measure a good life — tips for moving beyond GDP GDP has its roots in a concept proposed in the 1930s (see go.nature.com/4324jwf ), and GDP growth has since become the main economic-policy objective for most governments. Drops in GDP are often seen by markets, the media and commentators as a sign of government incompetence. However, this kind of growth has coincided with persistent inequality and environmental degradation worldwide, as the report says. If economic development is to benefit as many people as possible and to be sustainable in the long term, a measure is needed that captures these factors — and GDP does not. The authors have compiled 31 indicators, covering human rights, peace and respect for the planet, that they recommend governments measure (see Nature https://doi.org/q57n; 2026 ). …