Chasing Progress
Beyond measuring economic growth
16 March 2004
A new measure of the state of Britain’s economy, MDP or Measure of Domestic Progress, shows that social progress in Britain has become increasingly decoupled from economic growth over the last 50 years and has stalled completely in the last three decades.
This report shows that the growth in consumption represented by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) does not give a true picture of the progress of the nation and is failing to deliver on the Government’s own sustainable development targets.
The relentless pursuit of GDP growth has been the defining characteristic of Western politics over the last 50 years. The report exposes the comfortable assumption that economic growth is a good indicator of human progress and well-being as a myth. Economic growth is leading to unacceptable environmental risks, failing to guarantee social progress and doesn’t make us any happier.
Topics Wellbeing
