When we talk
about measuring the success of a nation, income is taken into account. But New
Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has decided to approach this in a
different way. To understand how this approach could create a significant
change, we must understand why there is a need for it. New Zealand’s method of
measuring economic development was like any other nation’s-- calculating GDP
(Gross Domestic Product).
GDP, short for Gross Domestic Product, is
defined as the total market value of all final goods and services produced
within a country in a given period. It includes private and public consumption,
private and public investment, and exports less imports.
Although GDP may inform us of the growth of the country as a whole, it does not reflect the well-being of every individual of the country. Even if GDP is showing that a country is performing well, there is a possibility of a situation in which there is an unequal distribution of money, due to which only a small portion of the population have large portions of money, while a huge part of the remaining population are very poor. In such a case, GDP cannot be called a reliable source.
Jacinda
Ardern plans to measure her country’s success by replacing the current methods,
and focusing on the well being of the population instead. Her target is to
reduce the proportion of children in low income households to 5%. A framework is to be created which will help
measure child poverty in the present and future. If you’re now wondering why it
has to be child poverty, and not any other problem, it is because the topic has
been ignored for long, and can be detrimental for the country.
UNICEF says 300,000 children – a third of New Zealand’s child population – now live below the poverty line. This is a rise of 45,000 in a year. Although many fear that this method will lead to ignorance and then collapse of the economy. Yet, since this idea is something new, it is something that other countries could experiment on too!
UNICEF says 300,000 children – a third of New Zealand’s child population – now live below the poverty line. This is a rise of 45,000 in a year. Although many fear that this method will lead to ignorance and then collapse of the economy. Yet, since this idea is something new, it is something that other countries could experiment on too!
Please note: While the content is all mine, which means that you shouldn't plagiarize this, credit goes to the following websites for information:
https://www.focus-economics.com/economic-indicator/gdp
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/101066981/nz-government-to-lead-world-in-measuring-success-with-wellbeing-measures
The writing is all my own, although these websites are my sources for this content.
