WEF warns focus on GDP as economic performance indicator is fuelling inequality and short-termism

Inclusive Development Index

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has developed a new metric of national economic performance as an alternative to GDP - the Inclusive Development Index (IDI) - which focuses on living standards and the futureproofing of economies.

It measures how 103 countries perform on 11 categories of economic progress in addition to GDP and focuses on three factors: growth and development, inclusion, and intergenerational equity or the sustainable stewardship of natural and financial resources (see chart right). The Index has been constructed as the WEF said there is an "excessive" reliance by policymakers on GDP as the main metric of national economic performance, but it argued this fails to capture a country's broad socio-economic progress in measures such as quality of life, employment opportunity and economic security. ...