What’s the best country to live in? [Ted-Ed]

What is GDP?

• Total value of everything that is bought in a country

• The total value of everything sold in a country

• Total monetary value of everything a country produces and sells on the market

• The total value of an entire country's infrastructure

What are somethings GDP does NOT capture:

• Services that are provided but not sold on the market place (like public schools and fire fighting)

• Levels of inequality (the amount of people who have wealth vs. who does not)

• How happy people are with their lives

• All of the above

_____ is an alternative to GDP that captures health, education, strong communities and living standards.

• Gross National Happiness (GNH)

• Gross Domestic Wellbeing (GNW)

• Human Development Index (HDI)

• Community Aggregate Valuation (CAV)

Which country comes closest to meeting the basic needs of their people while using resources sustainably?

• France

• Costa Rica

• Kenya

• South Korea

Explain the pros and cons of using GDP to measure a countries well-being.

What are the downsides to boiling down the quality of life in a country to a single value?

Why has GDP become a less useful tool for measuring well being over the past 100 years?

What we measure signals to people what we value. If we're only measuring the things bought and sold in a country, what are the other things we're missing out on capturing?

How should we measure the well-being of a country?

Who should decide what’s necessary for a country? For the world?