Development: Time to leave GDP behind

Costanza, Robert; Kubiszewski, Ida; Giovannini, Enrico; Lovins, Hunter; McGlade, Jacqueline; Pickett, Kate E.; Ragnarsdóttir, Kristín Vala; Roberts, Debra; Vogli, Roberto De; Wilkinson, Richard

doi:10.1038/505283a

Cited by 569 publications

(317 citation statements)

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“… De-Growth takes the concept of Steady State Economy one step further and proposes a conscious, planned and willing reduction of global economic activities [99][100][101][102]. It is usually argued for along three lines of reasoning: (i) natural limits to growth and the planet's carrying capacity have already been surpassed so a reduction in economic activities is needed to re-establish balance; (ii) natural limits may not have been surpassed yet, but inevitably soon they will and a planned and conscious de-growth is more desirable than an unplanned costly decline or collapse [103] and (iii) currently the cost of maintaining the status-quo far overweighs the benefits in terms of quality of life [98,99,[104][105][106]. The implications of aiming at de-growth are far reaching [100,[107][108][109] and often associated with vast societal transformation towards more democratic, locally focussed communities and a rejection of capitalist beliefs.…”

Section: Analysis: Interpreting Our Results Within Common Narratives mentioning

confidence: 99%

Citizens’ Views of Australia’s Future to 2050

2014

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Abstract:In four focus group exercises involving both forecasting and backcasting approaches, we gave approximately 100 Australian citizens the opportunity to discuss likely, desirable and feared futures to 2050. The image they paint is both coherent and consistent. Education, governance, personal attitudes and societal trends, rather than specific events, are drivers of a future which is perceived as being largely shaped by human choices. Innovation is believed to be more necessary in novel social arrangements than in further technology. The most feared futures arise from an amplification of trends already at play in the present: economic growth at the expense of the environment and quality of life, lack of equity, poor government, corporate greed, commercialism and erosion of social values. Economic and material growth does not feature in the most desired futures which are local, inclusive, peaceful, equitable and in some cases frugal. The visions and scenarios developed find a place within established foresight frameworks and global political narratives, but seem to lie at the fringe of current media and short-term political discourse. These results should not be interpreted as representative of the overall Australian population, but suggest that extending the analysis to the broader community could provide significant insights and enrich the discussion of important societal choices. OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2015, 7 223

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Section: Analysis: Interpreting Our Results Within Common Narratives mentioning

confidence: 99%

Citizens’ Views of Australia’s Future to 2050

2014

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“…Connectedly, GDP, the principal accounting device for economic growth often used as a proxy for understanding human development, is increasingly being seen as a hindrance for helping guide societies to becoming more sustainable. A recent example relates to how the environmental destruction resulting from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill and 2012 Hurricane Sandy boosted the US GDP because they stimulated rebuilding (Costanza et al 2014). Hence, accounting for these events through GDP appears dichotomous to progressive sustainable development.…”

Section: From Neoclassicism …mentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Sustainability Through the Lens of Ecocentric Radical-Reflexivity: Implications for Management Education

2017

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This paper seeks to contribute to the debate around sustainability by proposing the need for an ecocentric stance to sustainability that reflexively embeds humans in-rather than detached from-nature. We argue that this requires a different way of thinking about our relationship with our world, necessitating a (re)engagement with the sociomaterial world in which we live. We develop the notion of ecocentrism by drawing on insights from sociomateriality studies, and show how radical-reflexivity enables us to appreciate our embeddedness and responsibility for sustainability by bringing attention to the interrelationship between values, actions and our social and material world. We examine the implications of an ecocentric radically reflexive approach to sustainability for management education.

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“…Robert F. Kennedy, quoted by Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley [1] Gross National Product (GNP) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which measure the monetary value of goods and services produced in an economy, have often been treated as proxies for progress or wellbeing, despite their long-recognized limitations for that role [2]. Among other limitations are the failure to account for environmental costs, inequitable distribution and the value of non-market economic activity-much of which is undertaken by women [3][4][5]. Some critics argue that in a world in which ecological constraints are increasingly evident, further GDP growth can generate environmental and social costs that exceed economic benefits-in other words, "uneconomic growth" [6][7][8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Taking the First Steps beyond GDP: Maryland’s Experience in Measuring “Genuine Progress”

Hayden¹,

Wilson²

2018

Sustainability

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Gross Domestic Product's (GDP) limitations as a prosperity indicator are now widely recognized, leading to a search for "beyond-GDP" alternatives. The US state of Maryland has calculated one such alternative, the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), since 2010. What effect is Maryland's GPI having in practice? Is there any evidence to date that the GPI has shaped policy and public priorities in ways that live up to its supporters' hopes-whether for a transformative shift beyond the economic-growth paradigm or simply better policymaking? What key obstacles exist to fulfilling those goals? This article draws on semi-structured interviews with elite respondents-including Maryland's former governor, senior public servants, academics, non-governmental organization employees and foundation leaders-involved in producing, advocating and using the GPI, along with analysis of relevant documents. Although significant impacts on policy are not yet evident and a change of governor has removed high-level support, the GPI initiative has revealed innovative possibilities for more environmentally and socially minded policymaking and introduced new ideas with potential long-term impacts. However, various challenges remain, including strengthening the political constituency behind the GPI, more deeply embedding it into the policymaking process and addressing the GPI's own limitations in supporting a beyond-GDP economic narrative.

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Development: Time to leave GDP behind

Abstract: Bhutan has measured citizens' well-being using gross national happiness since 2008 (left); GDP has been in use since the 1944 Bretton Woods meeting (right).

Cited by 569 publications

References 5 publications

Citizens’ Views of Australia’s Future to 2050

Citizens’ Views of Australia’s Future to 2050

Understanding Sustainability Through the Lens of Ecocentric Radical-Reflexivity: Implications for Management Education

Taking the First Steps beyond GDP: Maryland’s Experience in Measuring “Genuine Progress”

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