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Historical wealth accounts for Britain: progress and puzzles in measuring the sustainability of economic growth

Author

Listed:
  • Eoin McLaughlin
  • Nick Hanley
  • David Greasley
  • Jan Kunnas
  • Les Oxley
  • Paul Warde

Abstract

Estimates of Britain’s comprehensive wealth are reported for the period 1760–2000. They include measures of produced, natural, and human capital, and illustrate the changing composition of Britain’s assets over this time period. We show how genuine savings, GS (a year-on-year measure of the change in total capital and a claimed indicator of sustainable development) has evolved over time. Changes in total wealth are compared to alternative, investment-based measures of GS, including variants augmented with the value of exogenous technology. Additionally, the possible effects of population change on wealth, and the implications of including carbon-dioxide emissions in natural capital are considered.

Suggested Citation

  • Eoin McLaughlin & Nick Hanley & David Greasley & Jan Kunnas & Les Oxley & Paul Warde, 2014. "Historical wealth accounts for Britain: progress and puzzles in measuring the sustainability of economic growth," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 30(1), pages 44-69.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:oxford:v:30:y:2014:i:1:p:44-69.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/oxrep/gru002
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Nick Hanley & Louis Dupuy & Eoin McLaughlin, 2015. "Genuine Savings And Sustainability," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(4), pages 779-806, September.
    2. Eoin McLaughlin & Cristián Ducoing & Les Oxley, 2024. "Tracing Sustainability in the Long Run: Genuine Savings Estimates 1850–2018," NBER Chapters, in: Measuring and Accounting for Environmental Public Goods: A National Accounts Perspective, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Nick Hanley & Les Oxley & David Greasley & Eoin McLaughlin & Matthias Blum, 2016. "Empirical Testing of Genuine Savings as an Indicator of Weak Sustainability: A Three-Country Analysis of Long-Run Trends," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 63(2), pages 313-338, February.
    4. McLaughlin, Eoin & Ducoing, Cristián & Hanley, Nick, 2024. "Challenges of wealth-based sustainability metrics: A critical appraisal," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    5. Cristian Barra & Giovanna Bimonte & Luigi Senatore, 2019. "Cooperation, diffusion of technology and environmental protection: a new index," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 53(4), pages 1913-1940, July.
    6. Ralph Hippe & Roger Fouquet, 2024. "The Human Capital Transition and the Role of Policy," Springer Books, in: Claude Diebolt & Michael Haupert (ed.), Handbook of Cliometrics, edition 3, pages 411-457, Springer.
    7. Blum Matthias & McLaughlin Eoin & Hanley Nick, 2019. "Accounting for Sustainable Development over the Long-Run: Lessons from Germany," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 20(4), pages 410-446, December.
    8. Cameron Hepburn & Eric Beinhocker & J. Doyne Farmer & Alexander Teytelboym, 2014. "Resilient and Inclusive Prosperity within Planetary Boundaries," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 22(5), pages 76-92, September.
    9. Samuel Forbes & Stefan Grosskinsky, 2021. "A Study of UK Household Wealth through Empirical Analysis and a Non-linear Kesten Process," Papers 2107.02169, arXiv.org.
    10. David Greasley & Jakob B. Madsen, 2017. "The Rise and Fall of Exceptional Australian Incomes Since 1800," Australian Economic History Review, Economic History Society of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 57(3), pages 264-290, November.

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