The Great Invention: The Story of GDP and the Making and Unmaking of the Modern World

by Ehsan Masood

The fascinating story of one of the twentieth-century's most influential and dangerously addictive ideas, told through the lives of those who invented it.

The world’s principal measure of the health of economies is gross domestic product, or the sum of what all of us spend every day, from the contents of our weekly shopping to large capital spending by businesses. GDP also includes the myriad things that our governments pay for, from libraries and road-line painting to naval dockyards and nuclear weapons.

The Great Invention reveals how in just a few decades GDP became the world’s most powerful how six algebraic symbols forged in the fires of the 1930's economic crisis helped Europe and America prosper, how the remedy now risks killing the patient it once saved, and how this fundamentally flawed metric is creating the illusion of global prosperity—and why many world leaders want to be able to ignore it but so far remain powerless to do so.

Drawing on interviews, firsthand accounts, and previously neglected source materials, The Great Invention takes readers on a journey from Capitol Hill to Whitehall—on the trail of theories made in Cambridge, tested in Karachi, and designed for global application—into the minds of unworldly geniuses seduced by the allure of power and the demands of politics.

Genres: Economics, History

352 pages, Hardcover

First published June 6, 2016

Reviews

[Jagannath · Rating 4 out of 5]

A small highly accessible book staying quite true to its title. It was a fascinating read on the birth of the GDP term, the reasons it got traction and the fall-back from it. It also paints interesting stories on how different personalities like the 4th king of Bhutan, Nicholas Sarkovsky and many economists tried to question the validity of the measurement. It makes you ponder on simple metrics meant to objective measure things as they are often shape the history of the world. Must read.

[Henry Gee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The economic health of a nation is measured using a simple formula called the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which summarises how much producers produce, and consumers consume, and in economic and political circles it’s seen as a Good Thing that GDP is always going up. Indeed, when GDP goes down for more than a certain length of time, there is an economic recession, which is seen as a Bad Thing. The flaw in this argument is that on a finite planet, GDP cannot keep going up without limit. In this small but engaging book, Ehsan Masood suggests that GDP was one of those temporary measures that seems to have become ingrained in the psyche of political economics — invented to measure the recovery of European nations after the trauma of World War II. But GDP doesn’t measure many things that are increasingly seen as essential to life, such as volunteering, or work-life balance. Should be not be more contented with less? In answer to this, Masood discusses two alternative measures in particular. One is Gross National Happiness, a metric peculiar to the Himalayan state of Bhutan. Another is the Human Development Index (HDI) which has achieved a measure of traction. But — for the moment — GDP reigns supreme. But for how much longer? NOTE: The author presented a revised and extended version of this with the title GDP. DISCLAIMER: The author and I are colleagues. We both work for the Submerged Log Company.

[Riccardo Tedesco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one. It’s closely related to my work, and I liked how it ties together names, topics, and reports into a clear, compelling narrative. It was also fascinating to get some answers about something as deeply embedded in our economy as GDP.

I didn’t give it 5 stars because at times I wished there was a bit more depth. Some sections could’ve used a little more meat on the bone. Still, a very nice and interesting read overall.

[Andi Alif · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good summary on how and why the GDP index was made to exist. Masood's combination of historical facts and expert's opinion really made a thorough story that explains pretty much the key points about the history of GDP. But, despite all that, I still find it lack depth and technicalities such as the in-depth explanation on each components of the GDP, GNH and HDI formula.

[Ramis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very insightful book by a very great author , introduction of new theories has really changed my way of thinking and looking at the GDP, author had defunct the old school theory and Re-introduce ecological economics in the formula of how the GDP should be calculated.

[Dani Ollé · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very enjoyable, it deals with the concept of GDP and how it relates to the Human Development Index and Environmental economics, but it does it focusing on the specific persons involved so that you get the feeling of reading a collection of short stories.

[Duy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sách ngắn viết về GDP và hạn chế của nó trong việc đánh giá sự phát triển của các quốc gia. Tạm được.