Introduction
Economic statistics aim to quantify aspects of the world, and, usually, to express this quantification in monetary terms. As an economist, I of course recognise the great practical benefits that result from such an approach, and from the use of resulting measures including GDP. However, we do not experience the world in such terms. How far economic statistics should – ambitiously – seek to reflect human experience of the world, rather than – more cautiously – measure the production of and use of goods and services is an open question. People seem likely to differ in their answers, which will lie on a spectrum. This think piece reflects – tentatively – on some of the challenges faced if seeking answers at the more ambitious end of the spectrum.
“What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare.” WH Davies.
One of the best things about writing a think piece is that you get the chance to explore ideas selectively, put forward your thoughts on a provisional basis, and not worry too much about the need to ensure those thoughts are securely grounded. You are free to go off on a tangent and to draw inspiration from obscure sources. And you don’t have to defer to, or even to review, the previous literature.
The thoughts set out in this think piece were partly sparked by Ed’s recent blog on the limits of GDP, but also partly by what might, especially for those not based in Newport, like me, seem an obscure source. That is the first line of the poem “Leisure” by the Newport poet W H Davies – the original “Super-Tramp”. This line, and indeed the whole poem, encourages us to stand back from the pressures of everyday life and to take time to observe, with full attention, the world we inhabit. The poem singles out the natural world as being particularly worthy of our full attention. (WH Davies led an unusual life for a poet (or anyone else), and the “Autobiography of a Super-Tramp” is a good read.)
In this think piece, I want to explore the nature of the value we get from some personal activities, including standing and staring, and from aspects of our engagement with the natural world, and how far this value can properly be measured and expressed in monetary terms.
Jonathan Price
Expert Advisor – Economic Statistics, OSR