“The commission also cited evidence that GDP growth does not always correlate with increases in measures of well-being such as health or self-reported happiness, and concluded that growing GDP can have deleterious effects on the environment. ”

Indeed, GDP growth doesn’t always represent the whole picture of the economy, despite it being a measure of how well the economy is doing. GDP neglects to include factors that would make a difference if it were counted. For example, the quality of products or unpaid labor don’t get factored into GDP because that ‘s not their purpose; those issues aren’t part of the measure of the economy. Including the exact money in the economy, exclusions of intermediate goods, underground economy, US workers overseas, household products, used goods, and transfer payments, GDP is essentially a guesstimate.