'…an adequate command of modern statistical methods is a necessary (but not sufficient) condition for preventing the modern economist from producing nonsense…'
(Schumpeter 1954)
Thinking about wellbeing and progress, and how to measure them, is probably among one of the oldest pastimes of humankind. And yet it seems that history continuously repeats, and we find ourselves trying to reinvent the wheel with 'new' measures, or worse still, ignoring the lessons provided by history. We currently have an array of different measures of progress, from which it is sometimes possible to derive different conclusions. This is not necessarily problematic, provided the users of these measures are familiar with their construction and limitations.
We have not yet developed any single measure to summarise all that wellbeing and progress encompass, and it is fair to say that we are unlikely to. It follows, that we - policy makers, commentators and the public - ought not to rely on any single measure to provide us with an assessment of the quality of individual lives or the cohesion of society. From a policy making perspective, it is important to recognise the complex inter relationships between economic, environmental and social capital, and to be explicit about the value judgments we use when considering tradeoffs so as to ensure policy is directed towards socially optimal outcomes. Further, we must guard against creating confusion with a plethora of measures. Currently, there is seemingly little coordination between various measures. Perhaps it is the role of the modern statistician to improve the organisation and dissemination of data, in order to capitalise on the existing momentum of demand for better measures of wellbeing. Of course improving the quality of our conceptual frameworks and metrics will only help with this endeavour.