EDMONTON — The Pembina Institute today announced it has completed a new accounting system that provides a much more comprehensive picture of Alberta's real wealth than is given by traditional measures of progress such as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The Sustainable Well-being Accounts use Genuine Progress Indicators (GPIs) to measure the long-term trends that influence our lives on a daily basis-reflecting the values, costs and benefits that matter most to Albertans. The accounts were developed, based on changes in the condition of 51 economic, social, human health and environmental indicators over the last 40 years.
Mark Anielski, Director of the Pembina Institute's Green Economics program, led the team of economists and policy analysts who undertook the work. The GPI accounts provide an alternative to the 50-year old international system for economic accounting, from which measures like the GDP were derived. Anielski says that while the GDP is a good measure of cash flowing through an economy, it does not measure genuine well-being. "In fact," he notes, "it has been said that the GDP measures everything except that which makes life worthwhile. For example, someone who smashes up their new car in an lunch-hour collision while eating a takeout meal contributes more to the GDP than the person who walks to work carrying a brown-bag lunch."
"Some of the biggest surprises came from the economic indicators," Anielski says. "We found that despite steady GDP growth since the recession of 1982, average real disposable income and real weekly wages (adjusted for inflation) have remained virtually unchanged in Alberta in almost 20 years. Meanwhile, the total of all government taxes paid per Albertan has increased almost 500 percent since 1961 and now exceeds every other single household expenditure item. And household debt now surpasses disposable income for the first time in history, while savings rates have been declining since 1982."
Other indicators assessed the condition of Alberta's natural resources, such as forests, agricultural soils, air and water quality, fish, wildlife and protected areas. Social and human health indicators looked at time use, crime, suicide, divorce, voter participation, gambling, obesity, premature mortality and other aspects.
David Pollock, the Pembina Institute's Executive Director, notes that the methodology is still new and will require improvements. "Nevertheless," he says, "it is important that a fundamental story be told, which is: We cannot take our sustainability as a society for granted and, in some cases, serious policy discussion and policy revision are warranted. We invite all Albertans to join the discussion, to review policy approaches in light of societal well-being and sustainability issues, and to assist us with the refinements, improvements and corrections that such visionary and innovative work always requires."
For more information contact:
Mark Anielski
Director, Pembina Institute
Office: 780-491-0696
Email: marka@pembina.org
For more information please see the backgrounder for this news release.