Sustainable development macro indicators

Few concepts appear to have captured the public and political imagination more than that of ‘sustainable development’. The concept is intended to embrace the idea of ensuring that future generations inherit an Earth which will support their livelihoods in such a way that they are no worse off than generations today. GDP shortcomings, as an index for measuring socio-economic progress, feature again prominently in the public debate, following years of benign neglect. Such criticisms are almost as old as the concept itself and national accountants have repeatedly warned about limitations of GDP as a welfare indicator. The list of alternative indicators is long; the focus of the article is on six widely known measures. The main dimensions of these measures are different (economic, social and environmental), but only a measure that is balanced in the three dimension can satisfy the requirements about an ideal index. Even, the famous Stiglitz-commission could not solve the problem, but to conceive 12 recommendations that may transform thinking