Michael Green: What the Social Progress Index can reveal about your country

Summary

In this speech, the speaker highlights the limitations of GDP as a measure of a nation's success, explaining its inability to account for well-being, fairness, or environmental sustainability. The speaker introduces the Social Progress Index (SPI), a new framework for measuring a country's performance based on real human needs: survival, access to opportunity, and freedom from discrimination. Using examples from countries like New Zealand and Brazil, the speaker emphasizes the importance of social progress alongside economic growth to ensure inclusive, sustainable development for future generations.

Takeaways

• 📊 GDP was introduced by Simon Kuznets in 1934 to measure economic performance, but it's not a measure of well-being.
• ⚠️ Kuznets warned that GDP should not be used as the sole guide for decision-making or to infer a nation's welfare.
• 🌍 GDP has become the dominant benchmark of success worldwide, influencing markets and political decisions globally.
• ❌ GDP has significant flaws, including ignoring environmental impact, counting harmful activities as progress, and not measuring happiness, justice, or fairness.
• 💡 The speaker introduces the Social Progress Index (SPI) as an alternative to GDP for measuring a country's success, focusing on people's real well-being.
• 🛠️ The SPI is built around three dimensions: meeting basic human needs, access to tools for improvement, and opportunities for personal advancement.
• 🌿 Unlike GDP, the SPI includes indicators for things like health, education, rights, and environmental sustainability.
• 📉 The speaker emphasizes that economic growth (GDP) does not automatically lead to social progress, especially as countries become wealthier.
• 🇧🇷 Brazil is highlighted as an example of a country that can grow its GDP but needs to prioritize social progress to avoid stagnation.
• 🏙️ The SPI can be applied at various levels, from countries to regions, to develop more inclusive, sustainable policies for real improvements in quality of life.

Q & A

Who was Simon Kuznets, and why is his work significant?

Simon Kuznets was an economist who delivered a report to the U.S. Congress in 1934 titled 'National Income, 1929-1932.' His work laid the foundation for how countries measure economic performance using Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

What warning did Simon Kuznets give about GDP in his report?

Kuznets warned that GDP should not be used as a measure of a nation's well-being. He cautioned that it only measures economic performance and does not capture aspects like welfare, happiness, or social progress.

Why is GDP considered flawed according to the speaker?

GDP is flawed because it ignores critical aspects such as environmental impact, fairness, justice, and social well-being. It counts activities like building bombs or prisons as progress, but it fails to measure factors like happiness, community, and sustainability.

What alternative to GDP does the speaker propose?

The speaker proposes the Social Progress Index (SPI) as an alternative to GDP. This index measures the well-being of societies based on criteria such as basic human needs, access to education and health, and individual freedoms, independent of GDP.

What are the three dimensions of the Social Progress Index?

The three dimensions of the Social Progress Index are: 1) Basic human needs like food, water, shelter, and safety, 2) Access to education, information, healthcare, and a sustainable environment, and 3) Opportunities for individuals to pursue their ambitions, rights, and freedom of choice.

Why does the speaker argue that GDP is less useful for middle and high-income countries?

For middle and high-income countries, the relationship between GDP and social progress flattens, meaning that additional GDP provides diminishing returns in terms of social progress. GDP becomes less helpful as a guide for further development.

What does the speaker use Brazil as an example of?

The speaker uses Brazil as an example of a country that is efficiently turning its GDP into social progress. However, the speaker also warns that economic growth alone isn't enough; Brazil must prioritize social progress in its development plan.

What is the significance of the subnational Social Progress Index created for the Amazon region?

The subnational Social Progress Index for the Amazon region allows policymakers and organizations to better understand the real quality of life in specific areas. This helps them create more effective development plans that improve lives while protecting the environment.

How does the Social Progress Index measure societal achievement differently from GDP?

Unlike GDP, which measures economic output, the Social Progress Index focuses on real achievements, such as life expectancy, quality of life, and whether people experience discrimination. It looks at outcomes rather than government spending or legal frameworks.

What vision does the speaker have for the future of societal measurement?

The speaker envisions a future where societal measurement moves beyond GDP. They imagine a world where nonprofits, businesses, and politicians are evaluated based on their contributions to social progress, and where real improvements in people’s lives are prioritized.