GDP vs. HDI- the adequate measure of societal well-being Introduction “We need a new economic paradigm that recognizes the parity between the three pillars of sustainable development. Social, economic and environmental well-being are indivisible. Together they define gross global happiness,” said the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in the high-level meeting – “Happiness and Well-being: Defining a New Economic Paradigm” at UN Headquarters in New York on the 2sd, April, 2012. These words remind us of the fact that not just economic well-being but social well-being (as much as enviromental well-being) is also an essential factor in rating a nation’s happiness, as well as that of a man. Therefore, the important thing to do now is to find a way to measure social well–being, and should that be Gross Domestic Product (as some country has done)? However, in actual fact, there are people who believe that GDP is inadequate and it should be replaced by the Human Development Index (HDI). We find this opinion very convincing.
The United States Institue of Peace (USIP) defined “social well-being” as “an end state in which basic human needs are met and people are able to coexist peacefully in communities with opportunities for advancement.” But what is an “end state”? And we can base on which factors to evaluate it? To answer these questions, the USIP also pointed out the 4 neccesery conditions to achive this “end state”, which were: Access To and Delivery of Basic Needs Services, Access To and Delivery of Education, Return and Resettlement of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, and finally Social Reconstruction. Therefore, whichever index we use to measure social well-being, it has to represent these conditions of a society.
Gross Domestic Product – GDP is a very familiar definition to all of us. It’s a concept which belongs to the economics category. Generally, GDP