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  4. December 2009
  5. Beyond GDP: The Quest for a Measure of Social Welfare

Journal of Economic Literature

ISSN 0022-0515 (Print) | ISSN 2328-8175 (Online)

Beyond GDP: The Quest for a Measure of Social Welfare

  • Marc Fleurbaey
Journal of Economic Literature
vol. 47, no. 4, December 2009
(pp. 1029–75)
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Abstract

This paper critically examines the various approaches to the measurement of individual well-being and social welfare that have been considered for the construction of alternatives to GDP. Special attention is devoted to recent developments in the analysis of sustainability, in the study of happiness, in the theory of social choice and fair allocation, and in the capability approach. It is suggested in the conclusion that, although convergence toward a consensual approach is not impossible, for the moment not one but three alternatives to GDP are worth developing. ( JEL I31, E23, E01)

Citation

Fleurbaey, Marc. 2009. "Beyond GDP: The Quest for a Measure of Social Welfare." Journal of Economic Literature 47 (4): 1029–75. DOI: 10.1257/jel.47.4.1029

JEL Classification

  • E01 Measurement and Data on National Income and Product Accounts and Wealth
  • E23 Macroeconomics: Production
  • I31 General Welfare