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National accounts

U.N. summit focuses on how to improve global happiness

Health & Medicine

The United Nations convened on Monday to discuss a topic that isn’t usually on their agenda: happiness. Throughout the day, speakers at the U.N. put forward their thoughts on how to measure and improve well-being around the world.

The World

How Should We Judge our Economy?

Arts, Culture & Media

Is Happiness More Important than GDP?

US, China Talk Trade and Currencies

The World

Grasping the Goal of a Green GDP

The World

How Green Can the GNP Be?

John Greenberg reports from Washington on the trials and tribulations of building a Gross National Product that accounts for environmental change. Advocates of greening up the economic measure claim it is crucial to include costs and gains to natural resources when weighing our national wealth.

Measuring Our Worth

The Gross Domestic Product was designed to be a barometer for the economy, and was meant to indicate the country’s periods of boom and bust. But some economists believe this accounting equation leaves out some important factors, and now there’s a push to revamp the GDP system.

The World

New disappointing GDP numbers

Business, Economics and Jobs

Revised GDP numbers for the second quarter have just come out, and they are disappointing for those who hoped the U.S. was improving economically. What do the new numbers mean, and what can we do to improve our situation?

The World

The Limits of GDP

Business, Economics and Jobs

The recession in the US is technically over. GDP grew at a rate of 3.5% in the last three months ending in September. But there’s a growing cadre of economists who say GDP has outlived its usefulness as a gauge of economic health. Jason Margolis has more.