4 The trouble with growth

Make Change Happen

Growth is usually measured by gross domestic product (GDP). But while this can indicate the health of other factors – such as jobs, livelihoods and even poverty reduction – it paints a limited picture. GDP does not capture inequality, despite the effect this has on wellbeing. It excludes the environment and the care economy – meaning a huge amount of work done by women literally doesn’t count. GDP also largely overlooks greenhouse gas emissions, failing to count the cost to vulnerable countries. In fact, damaging climate shocks can even count as ‘positive’ when we focus on GDP, as destruction prompts recovery spending. Discussing these and other issues are IIED director Andrew Norton, Essam Yassin Mohammed, IIED’s head of blue economy; Clare Shakya, director of the Climate Change research group; and Paul Steele, IIED's chief economist. To find out more about this episode, visit https://www.iied.org/trouble-growth-make-change-happen-podcast-episode-4. More on IIED's work in this area is available via https://www.iied.org/economics. You will also find recent briefings and papers in our Publications Library at pubs.iied.org/economics. You can follow the panellists on Twitter: @andynortondev, @clareshakya and @EYMohammed. Follow the podcast on @IIED_Voices for all the latest updates.