Det er ikke nok at måle indkomster, man må også ansætte den reelle rigdom pr. indbygger ved at inddrage sliddet på naturen og menneskene, vurdere om et land efterlader færre ressourcer til de næste generationer. Det er grundtesen i en ny indikator i Verdensbankens årbog med grønne data.
WASHINGTON, 5th June 2014 (World Bank): Consider this: Although most countries are on a sustainable path, nearly 45 percent of the 136 countries analyzed by the World Bank Group in its annual Little Green Data Book are depleting (udtømmer /reducerer) their “wealth” even as they show growth in annual income.
As these countries grow, they are not compensating for depletion of natural resources with the risk that in the long term, growth will decline, as the wealth on which it is based erodes.
What do we mean by “wealth”?
Broadly defined, a country’s total wealth includes the stocks of produced capital, natural capital, and human and social capital—all of which underpins the generation of national income.
Natural capital in analysis presented in the Little Green Data Book includes minerals and energy, agricultural land, forests and protected areas.
Our most commonly used indicator of country economic performance, GDP, only measures income, not wealth or how wealth is changing.
To help countries plan for more sustainable growth, a new indicator change in wealth per capita is now available for more than 200 countries in the World Development Indicators and Little Green Data Book.
Change in wealth per capita measures whether countries are saving enough to offset depreciation (forringelse) of manufactured capital and depletion of natural capital while sustaining future economic growth for their (growing) populations.
Negative changes in wealth per capita—particularly over several years—imply that a country is becoming poorer by leaving behind fewer resources for future generations.
A new indicator for the World Bank Group
Læs videre på http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2014/06/05/measuring-wealth-to-track-sustainability
