Measuring Development and Well-Being

The conventional measure of a nation’s economic growth has long been the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which quantifies the total economic output of a nation. However, ever since it was proposed by Simon Kuznets, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been subject to criticism. Former President John F. Kennedy made a notable statement regarding the measurement of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He said “…it (GDP) measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile.’ Many scholars have argued that GDP is falls short in assessing the overall well-being and quality of life within a society (Costanza et al., 2009)(Leon & Boris, 2010)(England, 1998). The shortcomings of GDP have triggered notable efforts in development of alternative frameworks and indices that could capture human development and well-being more holistically.