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The Growth Delusion: The Wealth and Well-Being of Nations

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A revelatory and entertaining book about the pitfalls of how we measure our economy and how to correct them, by an award-winning editor of The Financial Times

According to GDP, the economy is in a golden era: economic growth has risen steadily over the past seventy years and shows no sign of stopping. But if this is the case, why are we living in such fractured times, with global populism on the rise and wealth inequality as stark as ever?

In this book, author and prize-winning journalist David Pilling demystifies Gross Domestic Product, a tool that measures the goods and services a country produces in a set period. Revered by economists, GDP is considered evidence of a country’s success and wellbeing. Yet GDP is actually, at best, a numbers game, unequipped to deal with the nuances of the digital economy and developing nations. It also lacks moral judgement: such is the drive for growth that heroin consumption is valued more than volunteer work. By fixating on GDP, experts are ignoring alternative models that better reflect reality, and ushering in policies that could even harm us.

In characteristically clear and lively prose, Pilling draws on a quarter century of reporting to argue that our steadfast loyalty to GDP is informing misguided policies – and contributing to a growing mistrust of experts that is shaking the foundations of our democracy.

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A revelatory and entertaining book about the pitfalls of how we measure our economy and how to correct them, by an award-winning editor of The Financial Times

According to GDP, the economy is in a golden era: economic growth has risen steadily over the past seventy years and shows no sign of stopping. But if this is the case, why are we living in such fractured times, with global populism on the rise and wealth inequality as stark as ever?

In this book, author and prize-winning journalist David Pilling demystifies Gross Domestic Product, a tool that measures the goods and services a country produces in a set period. Revered by economists, GDP is considered evidence of a country’s success and wellbeing. Yet GDP is actually, at best, a numbers game, unequipped to deal with the nuances of the digital economy and developing nations. It also lacks moral judgement: such is the drive for growth that heroin consumption is valued more than volunteer work. By fixating on GDP, experts are ignoring alternative models that better reflect reality, and ushering in policies that could even harm us.

In characteristically clear and lively prose, Pilling draws on a quarter century of reporting to argue that our steadfast loyalty to GDP is informing misguided policies – and contributing to a growing mistrust of experts that is shaking the foundations of our democracy.

 

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Paperback

2018

ISBN: 9781408893715

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