Question

Economists often measure the well-being of a society in terms of dollar-value of output. What types of things does this measure overlook in terms of the Standard of Living?

Answer 1

In order to judge the well-being of a society you need to look at a lot more than just the productive output of a country.

There are many wealthy countries such as United Kingdom which has a GDP in excess of USD $2 trillion. At the same time, there is lots of child poverty in the country and many single families without a proper means of income.

In order to better measure the well-being of a society, it is better to have a more holistic approach. We have to look at youth unemployment, crime rates, corruption, democracy, political freedoms, human rights, healthcare etc.

A country like China has a dollar-value output second only to the United States but their citizens do not enjoy any human rights.