2023-05-08 17:52:02
GDP is expected to grow by a few tenths of a point in 2023. 584172366/Xilon – stock.adobe.com
BIG DECRYPT – The gross domestic product (GDP) responded perfectly to the major challenges of the postwar boom. On the other hand, it says nothing about the social and environmental tensions that run through our societies. What are the ways to revise this ubiquitous indicator?
Is the quest for growth that structures our societies compatible with the ecological emergency? The question has been tormenting the economic sphere for several years and fuels intense political debate. For proponents of degrowth, the correlation between CO emissions2 and production of wealth is not discussed; the two curves must then fall hand in hand. Many entrepreneurs, for their part, believe in the notion of “decoupling” economic activity from the degradation of the planet. They believe they can loosen this vice through innovation and new decarbonization techniques. The latest IPCC report takes a significant step in this direction.
These discussions bring with them a fundamental reflection on the notion of gross domestic product (GDP). This indicator, invented in the 1930s in the United States and then refined by John Maynard Keynes, measures the wealth of a country by adding together consumption, private investment, government spending and royalties.
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