High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP News
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Experts highlight momentum for UN High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP
A comment published in Nature emphasises that traditional GDP metrics fail to account for essential dimensions of development and wellbeing. The piece highlights the High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP’s work on developing new indicators. Encouragingly, there is significant consensus in previous Beyond GDP initiatives that the group can build upon. The authors offer further evidence that transitioning beyond GDP is both necessary and achievable and highlights that some countries have been leading the way. Key challenges remain, such as creating convergence among the various Beyond GDP frameworks towards a single set of indicators and overcoming the overreliance on GDP in policy analyses and decision making.
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Editorial in Nature spotlights the UN High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP
A Nature editorial urged renewed global efforts to redefine how progress is measured, recognizing the UN High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP as a key initiative. The article underscores the importance of the UN-led effort, and calls on researchers to contribute to redefining how prosperity and sustainability are measured.
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High-Level Expert Group Co-Chair, Kaushik Basu, calls for a new understanding of Progress Beyond GDP
A commentary by Kaushik Basu, one of the Co-Chairs of the High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP, underscores why GDP can no longer serve as the primary benchmark of national progress. Basu highlights how GDP obscures rising inequality, reinforces concentrations of economic and political power, and incentivizes environmentally damaging activities that undermine future well-being. He argues that, because what we choose to measure shapes how societies understand prosperity, embedding sustainability, equity and democratic resilience into our core indicators is essential for charting a more balanced and future-proof vision of progress.
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Appointment of the UN High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP
On 7 May, the Secretary-General appointed an independent High-Level Expert Group to develop recommendations for measures that complement and go beyond Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as requested by Member States in the Pact for the Future. The initiative aims to create more comprehensive metrics that reflect economic, social, and environmental well-being, supporting balanced and sustainable development. Co-chaired by Kaushik Basu and Nora Lustig, the 14-member Group will design a conceptual framework and a dashboard of indicators to guide policymaking. It will work closely with Member States and UN entities, presenting its findings to the General Assembly at its eightieth session.
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