Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/309829 
Year of Publication: 
2019
Citation: 
[Journal:] Eurostat Review on National Accounts and Macroeconomic Indicators (EURONA) [ISSN:] 1977-978X [Issue:] 1 [Year:] 2019 [Pages:] 7-41
Publisher: 
Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg
Abstract: 
Gross domestic product (GDP) is the most widely used indicator from the system of national accounts. Although often interpreted as an indicator for (economic) well-being, it first and foremost monitors economic activity, and falls short of reflecting broader measures which try to capture well-being of people and sustainability. In 2009, the Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi Commission, in its Report on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress, put forward a number of recommendations to address this apparent disconnect. The report has been an important driver of the statistical agenda of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).This paper provides an overview of the main initiatives at the OECD in the context of national accounts. First it discusses work within the current system of national accounts, by giving more prominence to households. Going beyond the current system of national accounts, the paper addresses issues related to the impact of unpaid household activities on traditional measures of economic activity and to sustainability, tackled by implementing the System of Environmental Economic Accounts (SEEA). The paper ultimately proposes a broader accounting framework that goes well beyond the traditional macroeconomic framework of national accounts and that tries to establish a link with well-known initiatives to monitor well-being at large via for example the OECD Better Life Index.
Subjects: 
(economic) well-being
environmental-economic accounting
GDP
national accounts
sustainability
JEL: 
E01
E61
I30
I31
M41
Q50
Document Type: 
Article

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