Jason Margolis

Jason Margolis

Jason Margolis is a Boston-based reporter who regularly files stories throughout the U.S. about politics, economics, immigration issues, and environmental matters.

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How Happy is the Economy?

November 6, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment
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On October 29th, the US Commerce Department announced that the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, grew by an annual rate of 3.5 percent in the quarter that ended in September. So by one measure, technically we are out of recession. But it sure doesn’t feel like the hard times are past us for the one in ten Americans who are unemployed and looking for work.

This got us thinking in the newsroom: How effective is GDP at gauging the health of a nation’s economy? After all, GDP doesn’t factor in things like the environmental consequences of growth. Build some new machinery, but pollute a nearby river: GDP goes up. We weren’t the first people to question the validity of GDP as the best measure of a country’s well-being. I got the idea for a story by reading Eric Zencey’s op-ed in the New York Times, which questions the usefulness of GDP. (And of course, Zencey wasn’t the first to come up with the thoughts in his op-ed, but who really has an original thought anymore these days?) Zencey’s commentary, and the arguments of many others are stirring some debate over just how effective of a tool is GDP. The French say it’s time to find a better economic indicator. So too do groups from Nepal to Brazil to Vermont who are looking at ways to measure happiness and well-being to gauge a nation’s economic health.

Traditional Thai Greeting

Traditional Thai Greeting

And while we’re on the subject of happiness, how happy can a people truly be without access to a McDonald’s happy meal? I’m not a regular McDonald’s visitor, but I have to say, when I’m having a tough day on the road thousands of miles from home, the golden arches bring a familiar feeling of welcome. (Personal testimony: McDonald’s strawberry milkshakes hold up as excellent in Ukraine, Italy, and Peru.) In this podcast, we’ll hear from a nation where it’s no longer possible to get a Big Mac. I ask you: Just what are we Americans supposed to do there if we’re having a bad travel day???

And check out this classic Thomas Friedman column about the Big Mac and global security.

Discussion

One comment for “How Happy is the Economy?”

  • http://www.artistnos.co.uk Colin Hall

    I have always thought that bottled water sales would be a good measure of the national economy. In the UK there is no need to buy bottled water at all. Our tap water is clean and tastes good, in fact many of our towns still have natural spring water fountains. So the purchasing of bottled spring water is certainly something that would change if the population was feeling that they have to cut down on luxuries.

    On the 14 April 2008, the Daily Mail reported that sales of bottled water had fallen by 9%. They directly attributed this to an increase in environmental awareness of people. However, at this time we were yet to discover how drastic a downturn was ahead of us.

    I’m always shocked by our press and their inability to see the obvious. Especially when they are stating that more restaurants are now providing tap water with meals and no longer pushing sales of the more expensive bottles.