New Zealand Part of Growing Wellbeing Network

For a small but growing network of countries, the world’s go-to metric of economic health is no longer fit for purpose, Sam Meredith reports for CNBC. Mostly led by women, Finland, Iceland, Scotland, Wales and New Zealand are all members of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance.

The coalition, which is expected to expand in the coming months, aims to transform economies around the world to deliver shared well-being for people and the planet by 2040, Meredith writes.

That means abandoning the idea that the percentage change in gross domestic product is a good indicator of progress, and instead reframing economic policy to deliver quality of life for all people in harmony with the environment.

Dominick Stephens, chief economic advisor at the Treasury in New Zealand, hailed the country’s first well-being report as a “landmark moment,” saying it aims to provide lawmakers with a big-picture view of what life is like in the South Pacific nation.

Original article by Sam Meredith, CNBC, December 25, 2022.