GDP, the leading economic measurement, is outdated and misleading. . . . It’s like grading a corporation based on today’s cash flow and forgetting to depreciate assets and other costs. – Joseph Stiglitz, “Good Numbers Gone Bad,” Fortune, October 2, 2006.

In the decade leading to the recent commodity boom, which peaked in 2007-08, several resource-rich, low-income countries displayed high rates of gross domestic product (GDP) growth while social indicators did not improve significantly. It is well known that, in itself, the widely tracked GDP may...

In the decade leading to the recent commodity boom, which peaked in 2007-08, several resource-rich, low-income countries displayed high rates of gross domestic product (GDP) growth while social indicators did not improve significantly. It is well known that, in itself, the widely tracked GDP may...