The 2026 Beyond GDP agenda

The United Nations' independent High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP places this broader measurement problem on the international agenda. Its 2026 report, Counting What Counts, proposes a dashboard of 31 indicators, bringing well-being, inclusion and sustainability into a framework that complements GDP. It is a proposal for how progress could be measured more fully. UN report, Executive Summary, p.viii

One of its indicators concerns time spent on unpaid domestic and care work. The report's annex says that data for this indicator are produced for only 46% of countries and, on average, once every five years. India has a substantial source of evidence in this area; the report identifies a wider international problem of coverage and frequency. This is the report’s coverage assessment; the annex does not provide an underlying country count. UN report, Annex, p.33

The policy implication I draw is that a more complete account of progress requires both broader questions and the statistical capacity to answer them repeatedly. An indicator cannot guide a timely response if the underlying evidence is missing or too infrequent to show change.

The World Bank's Changing Wealth of Nations 2024 approaches complementary measurement from another direction, examining the assets that support production, including produced, human and natural capital. Wealth measures ask whether the productive base is being maintained. Time-use evidence asks how activities are distributed through people's lives. These approaches can inform a richer discussion without being interchangeable. World Bank, Changing Wealth of Nations

A broader account of progress also changes how we read a promise of greater productivity. What happens to any time a new technology might release?