News archive - 2009

Monday, September 21, 2009

Statistics at odds with people's reality (Toronto Star)

The economy is supposed to be recovering. But millions of Canadians don't see any improvement. Their incomes aren't growing. Their jobs – if they're working – are still precarious. Their lives are no better.

Read the full article at The Star.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

How to measure Gross National Happiness (Toronto Star)

Since its emergence in the 1930s, per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been a proxy for our personal well-being. In short, our happiness.

Now two Nobel-laureate economists, Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen, have called for clarity about what passes for well-being. Their landmark report, submitted this week to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, is an impassioned plea to politicians and economists for a broader vision:

Just as money can't buy happiness, per capita GDP can't measure it.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Lies, damned lies and gross domestic product statistics (Toronto Star)

Striving to revive the world economy while simultaneously responding to the global climate crisis has raised a knotty question: Are statistics giving us the right signals about what to do?

In our performance-oriented world, measurement issues have taken on increased importance. What we measure affects what we do.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Unemployment, poverty could stay high for years, new Canadian Index of Wellbeing report says

A new report, The Economic Crisis through the Lens of Economic Wellbeing, released on July 29th by the Institute of Wellbeing, says that the current recession will erase many of the economic and standard of living gains made since the mid-1990s. Unemployment and poverty will likely continue to rise and stay at high levels for years.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Georgian professor grading your quality of life (Barrie Examiner)

Canadians will have their voices heard when a pilot program initiated in Simcoe County has its nationwide release today.

The Canadian Index of Well Being has been in the works the past eight years gathering information dedicated to helping Canadians. It's a self-sovereign organization that measures what is important to Canadians on a regional level, and, in turn, aid in the development of Canadians.

Planned growth and healthy populations are its main themes.

Lance Holdforth