On Thursday 6th March, the Keynes Society welcomed Diane Coyle OBE. Mrs Coyle spoke on the subject of her new book on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and its severe deficiencies. She argued that GDP 'does not capture good or bad things that need to measured.' Indeed it does not account for the informal economy (e.g. housework), the intangible economy (e.g. the digital sector), sustainability and finance. She also dismissed alternatives like the Human Development Index (HDI), the Happiness Index and the Green Index. Whilst Mrs Coyle did not provide her thoughts on what the optimum index for measuring an economy would be, she did offer much food for thought. We thank Diane Coyle for a fascinating talk.
Anthony Beaumont JDN
