Genuine Progress Indicators: Measuring the Well-Being of a Region

One of the architects of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Simon Küznets, cautioned against using the GDP as a measure of the welfare of a nation. Some 32 years after his lament, Redefining Progress, an economic research think tank developed the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI). For the first time, a holistic measure of the welfare of a nation had been constructed.

More on the history of the GPI.

The Alberta GPI: 51 Indicators of “Progress”

Building on the work of Redefining Progress, Mark Anielski and Amy Taylor of the Pembina Institute first published the GPI accounts for Alberta in 2000. These accounts tracked 51 indicators from 1961 to 1999. The indicators were grouped as economic, social or environmental.

To celebrate Alberta’s 100th anniversary in 2005, Pembina economist, Amy Taylor, updated the 51 indicators that form the Alberta GPI accounts.

Read Amy Taylor's Alberta GPI Updated Summary Report (2005).

Visit www.greeneconomics.ca for more information about Genuine Progress Indicators, Ecological Fiscal Reform and other environmental economic frameworks.