Articles describing Dr. Stiglitz’s conclusions about the weaknesses of the GDP omit one key piece of information. Can an equally objective statistic replace it? When Simon Kuznets developed the GDP concept during the 1930s, he selected quantifiable variables that could be compared consistently. Maybe the GDP reflects what Winston Churchill said about democracy–flawed but better than any other system.

The Economic Lesson

The GDP can be defined as the money value of goods and services produced in one country during a specific time period.