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GDP and Beyond: Measuring Economic Progress and Sustainability

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  • J. Steven Landefeld
  • Shaunda M. Villones

    (Bureau of Economic Analysis)

Abstract

The United States possesses some of the most highly developed sets of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) accounts in the world. These accounts are collectively known as the National Income Product and Wealth Accounts or National Accounts. However, since their inception in the 1930s, the economy has continuously evolved. Issues have been raised about the scope and structure of the national accounts, limitations of focusing on market activities, and the contributions of investments in human capital and natural resources to economic growth. More recently, there are concerns about the adequacy of the national accounts in capturing the differential impact of the current recession, and the failure of the existing national accounts to provide adequate warning about the imbalances that developed in housing and financial markets. This article explores each of these issues and relates them to the need for expanded or supplementary measures for the national accounts, highlighting what such estimates might reveal relative to the conventional statistics presented by GDP and other aggregate statistics from the accounts.

Suggested Citation

  • J. Steven Landefeld & Shaunda M. Villones, 2009. "GDP and Beyond: Measuring Economic Progress and Sustainability," BEA Working Papers 0052, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
    • Handle: RePEc:bea:wpaper:0052
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    File URL: https://www.bea.gov/system/files/papers/RevisedBeyondGDP.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Simon Kuznets & Lillian Epstein & Elizabeth Jenks, 1946. "National Income and Its Composition, 1919-1938, Volume II," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number kuzn41-3.
    2. J. Steven Landefeld & Stephanie H. McCulla, 2000. "Accounting For Nonmarket Household Production Within A National Accounts Framework," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 46(3), pages 289-307, September.
    3. Dale W. Jorgenson, 2009. "A New Architecture For The U.S. National Accounts," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 55(1), pages 1-42, March.
    4. Simon Kuznets, 1941. "National Income, 1919-1938," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number kuzn41-2.
    5. J. Steven Landefeld & Barbara M. Fraumeni & Cindy M. Vojtech, 2009. "Accounting For Household Production: A Prototype Satellite Account Using The American Time Use Survey," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 55(2), pages 205-225, June.
    6. Michael G. Palumbo & Jonathan A. Parker, 2009. "The Integrated Financial and Real System of National Accounts for the United States: Does It Presage the Financial Crisis?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(2), pages 80-86, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Olha Hlushchenko, 2016. "Well-being funding: essence and estimation method," RIVISTA DI STUDI SULLA SOSTENIBILITA', FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2016(2), pages 45-55.
    2. Carol E. Moylan, 2010. "Cyclical Indicators for the United States," BEA Papers 0099, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
    3. V. K. Shrotryia & Shashank Vikram Pratap Singh, 2020. "Measuring Progress Beyond GDP: A Theoretical Perspective," Emerging Economy Studies, International Management Institute, vol. 6(2), pages 143-165, November.
    4. Sun, Huaping & Kporsu, Anthony Kwaku & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad & Edziah, Bless Kofi, 2020. "Estimating environmental efficiency and convergence: 1980 to 2016," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).

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    JEL classification:

    • E6 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook

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