Mismeasuring Our Lives: Why GDP Doesn't Add Up and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more


or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
Trade in Yours
For a £0.65 Gift Card
Trade in
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Colour:
Image not available

 
Start reading Mismeasuring Our Lives: Why GDP Doesn't Add Up on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Mis-Measuring Our Lives [Paperback]

Joseph E. Stiglitz , Amartya Sen
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
RRP: £11.99
Price: £8.27 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £3.72 (31%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Only 2 left in stock (more on the way).
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.
Want it Friday, 21 June? Choose Express delivery at checkout. Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition £6.59  
Paperback £8.27  
Trade In this Item for up to £0.65
Trade in Mis-Measuring Our Lives for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.65, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Special Offer until June 30, 2013: Receive an additional £5 promotional Gift Card, when you trade-in at least £10 worth of books. Learn more

Frequently Bought Together

Mis-Measuring Our Lives + Development as Freedom
Price For Both: £15.16

Buy the selected items together
  • Development as Freedom £6.89

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought


Product details

  • Paperback: 176 pages
  • Publisher: THE NEW PRESS (26 May 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1595585192
  • ISBN-13: 978-1595585196
  • Product Dimensions: 13.4 x 1.5 x 19 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 150,436 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Customer Reviews

5 star
0
2 star
0
1 star
0
3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By AK TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The book is the result of the commission on reflecting on the way economic development and well-being is being measured, as set up by French president Sarkozy, and run mainly by Joseph Stiglitz, Amartya Sen and Jean Paul Fitoussi (with other current economic great peppered in as members). The main question - if and how GDP is mismeasuring our progress - is addressed insofar that the main known weaknesses, alternatives / enrichments and measures for measuring sustainability are discussed.

The content and language of the report are certainly digestible enough that a non-economist will have no difficulties reading it and the points are brought over well in my opinion. It will perhaps not appeal quite so much to someone looking for an executive summary headed by several easy to follow recommendations, as a lot of the problem actually lies in the details (sufficiently but not overbearingly laid out, with pertinent examples).

If one looks at the wider issue of how the choice of measurement affects behaviour, the book is an excellent example, definitely to be read in concert with How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business. In this respect the introduction provided by Nikolas Sarkozy is pretty inspired, too - much more than just a couple of sentences explaining the motivation, and a valuable component of the overall book itself.

The less pleasant aspect for a business minded leader is that there is no easy solution and that all of the alternatives actually demand more effort in collating and more in interpreting than the commonly accepted ad flawed GDP. Whether this is the report's flaw or not will depend on the reader, of course.
... Read more ›
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
4 of 12 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Loss of Connection 13 July 2010
Format:Paperback
"The Commission regards its report as opening a discussion rather than closing it. The report hints as issues that ought to be addressed in the context of more comprehensive research efforts". Thus reads the opening statement of the last section of the Executive Summary. - Is it just me, or isn't it just a bit tame - given the grand opportunity presented to the authors by pres. Sarkozy?
This is one of those rare occasions where a lengthy preface signed by a politician - French pres. Sarkozy of all persons! - is actually the most engaging and interesting part of a book - and that preface is really worth reading! - It may be unfair to the leaders of the Commission, not knowing what their working conditions has been: Nevertheless, I am left with the impression that this is yet another occasion where politics and science fail to connect, in this case uncharacteristically mainly due to science being wholly unprepared for a sudden political opening. A trifle sad, at least. Much as I would love to like the book, I cannot rate it any higher than three stars.
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com: 4.5 out of 5 stars  13 reviews
50 of 51 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars "Can't Buy Me Love" 17 Jun 2010
By Wade T. Wheelock - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This is a very important book. Many people should read it. All who offer evaluations of how people are faring around the world, and every single politician and policy maker, needs to take its recommendations into consideration. The topic at first seems way too specialized for the general reader: why GDP -- gross domestic product, a monetary figure that claims to sum up all the goods and services produced in a country's economy and has reigned supreme as the most cited economic statistic -- is misleading as a straightforward indicator of human well-being. But this brief book is intended for a wide audience.

"Mismeasuring Our Lives" tells us, in clear, concise and non-technical language why GDP is a problematic measure, what other measurements we should use or develop, and why this is so important for all citizens to understand. The book is the report of a commission called together by French president Nicolas Sarkozy. The lead authors, who convened a broad and distinguished international panel of experts, are the Nobel Prize-winning economists Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen, along with Jean-Paul Fitoussi, head of the French center for economic research. They begin by pointing out how much economic activity GDP leaves out, such as the work of a stay-at-home parent or the full benefit of government-provided health care. And GDP can be misleading: rising national output can still leave behind middle and low earners; China, despite authoritarian rule, can appear to be a "better" society than democratic India, if you just look at GDP per capita; France, with more guaranteed vacation time for workers, rates lower than the frenetic U.S.; selling more expensive, gas-guzzling SUVs raises GDP, but at the cost of raising global temperatures and reducing oil reserves.

The report suggests ways to rectify these problems, both using currently available statistics and calling for new measurements. But the commission clearly recognizes that measures of economic performance, particularly the GDP focus on market activity, do not equate to human satisfaction. So they call for a new and extensive move toward better understanding -- and measurement -- of the quality of life. A final third of the book seeks to do the same for sustainability -- how do we improve life for everyone now in such a way that we are not robbing from our children's future? As President Sarkozy points out: "We will not change our behavior unless we change the ways we measure our economic performance."
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Vital for journalists, environmentalists, economists, and concerned citizens 9 Mar 2011
By Paula L. Craig - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
John Maynard Keynes once said "The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist." Nowhere is this more true than in the misuse of GDP statistics. If you are a journalist or other writer who uses GDP statistics, you owe it to society to read this book. I am delighted to see prominent economists such as the book's authors paying attention to the problem of misused GDP statistics leading to bad economic decisions.

"Mismeasuring Our Lives" makes the problems of GDP clear. GDP is not necessarily a bad statistic, but its limitations must be kept in mind. GDP is not a measure of prosperity, or of quality of life. GDP says nothing whatever about sustainability. The authors' main point is that when making policy decisions, GDP should never be the only consideration. (Similarly, a checking account balance is useful for determining the prosperity of a household. However, to avoid bankruptcy it is wise to also consider such things as income, expenses, and savings. Paying attention to the checking account balance and nothing else can be seriously misleading.)

The book contains a discussion of adjustments to GDP to make it more useful. There's also a chapter on measuring sustainability. I thought this was fine as far as it went. I was disappointed that nothing was said about Herman Daly's three laws of sustainability. These are: (1) Renewable resources such as fish, soil, and groundwater must be used no faster than the rate at which they regenerate. (2) Nonrenewable resources such as minerals and fossil fuels must be used no faster than renewable substitutes for them can be put into place. (3) Pollution and wastes must be emitted no faster than natural systems can absorb them, recycle them, or render them harmless. I would have liked to see a discussion of measurement based on these. I would also have liked to see more on the implications for policy decisions of using measurements beyond GDP.

As far as writing style, the book is a bit stodgy and academic. However, don't let that stop you. There is nothing here that is beyond an ordinary reader. The book is not very long, only 136 pages.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Profound implications for policy makers 31 July 2010
By Malvin - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
"Mismeasuring Our Lives" might well be remembered for marking the point in time when GDP (gross domestic product) was consigned to the dustbin of history. Commissioned by the visionary French president Nicolas Sarkozy, a stellar group of economists were tasked with developing a new set of metrics that could more fully assess humanity's economic and social progress. The report has profound implications for policy makers and citizens everywhere.

The Foreword is written by the remarkably perceptive president Sarkozy, who explains his motivations and intentions. Combining keen intelligence with a vision for a more humane and sustainable future, president Sarkozy explains why the blunt instrument of GDP has deluded us into making poor policy choices based on short-term interests. President Sarkozy passionately believes that more sophisticated methodologies are necessary in how we collect and act upon data if we hope to pursue strategies that are meant to improve humanity's collective well-being now and into the future.

The report includes a Preface authored by the commission's lead economists (Amrtya Sen, Joseph Stiglitz and Jean-Paul Fitoussi); an executive summary; three sections (Classical GDP Issues, Quality of Life, and Sustainable Development and Environment); and notes. Graphs and charts are interspersed throughout to illustrate key points. While the committee's report frequently uses the kind of dry and/or qualified language that one might expect, its power is undeniable: the authors have succeeded in sketching out a new paradigm that puts people and the environment on equal footing with corporate profits.

As the world brought to us by neoliberal economics crumbles around us, it is critical that president Sarkozy's project gains attention. I highly recommend this important book to educators, policy makers, activists and concerned citizens everywhere.
Were these reviews helpful?   Let us know
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 

Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Feedback


Amazon.co.uk Privacy Statement Amazon.co.uk Delivery Information Amazon.co.uk Returns & Exchanges