In The Measure of Progress: Counting What Really Matters, Dame Diane Coyle argues that traditional measures like GDP no longer capture economic realities.
Coyle is the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge. She is also the director of the Productivity Institute, a fellow of the Office for National Statistics, and a member of the UK’s Competition Commission. Drawing on her deep expertise, she proposes an alternative framework for measuring productivity that enables better policymaking.
In her conversation with Nikolaus Lang, global leader of the BCG Henderson Institute, she discusses the shortcomings of GDP—such as a lack of accounting for immaterial goods or natural capital, alternative measures of progress, and how corporate leaders should rethink their approach to measurement.
Key topics discussed:
01:32 | The shortcomings of GDP as a measure of productivity
09:14 | The issues of inflated GDP statements
11:12 | Alternative measures of productivity and progress
13:47 | A time-based approach to measuring productivity
16:39 | How productivity measurement works in practice
18:57 | Implications for corporate leaders
Additional inspirations from Diane Coyle: