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Problem Domestik Bruto: Sejarah dan Realitas Politik di Balik Angka Pertumbuhan Ekonomi
Selama puluhan tahun angka Produk Domestik Bruto (PDB) telah mendominasi pengambilan kebijakan pembangunan sedunia. Negara-negara dunia diperingkat berdasarkan PDB, akses terhadap institusi tata kelola dunia diberikan berdasarkan pencapaian PDB (anggota G8 atau G20). Namun, apa sesungguhnya yang diukur oleh angka ini, bagaimana sejarahnya ia bisa menjadi tolok ukur yang sangat berkuasa?
Krisis demi krisis telah meyakinkan banyak pihak –termasuk para ekonom dan pencipta angka ini sendiri—bahwa ada yang salah dengan cara para pengambil kebijakan memakai PDB sebagai ukuran keberhasilan. PDB bisa terus naik seiring dengan memburuknya kualitas lingkungan dan melebarnya ketimpangan. Mengejar pertumbuhan PDB kini diyakini telah memelencengkan prioritas kita tentang apa yang sesungguhnya penting bagi kesejahteraan hidup manusia.
Lorenzo Fioramonti membongkar “kandungan” PDB dan menguak kepentingan-kepentingan politik yang memungkinkannya mendominasi perekonomian dunia saat ini. Ia juga menunjukkan beragam alternatif yang tengah diuji oleh berbagai negara, lembaga, dan organisasi sebagai ganti PDB.
——
“Seraya ekosistem planet ini dan perekonomian lokal serta nasional memburuk, bergerak melampaui PDB menjadi suatu keharusan demi bertahan hidup […]
Fioramonti memperkenalkan kita kepada inisiatif-inisiatif baru untuk mengukur kekayaan riil beserta kesejahteraan dan kebahagiaan.” — Vandana Shiva
Krisis demi krisis telah meyakinkan banyak pihak –termasuk para ekonom dan pencipta angka ini sendiri—bahwa ada yang salah dengan cara para pengambil kebijakan memakai PDB sebagai ukuran keberhasilan. PDB bisa terus naik seiring dengan memburuknya kualitas lingkungan dan melebarnya ketimpangan. Mengejar pertumbuhan PDB kini diyakini telah memelencengkan prioritas kita tentang apa yang sesungguhnya penting bagi kesejahteraan hidup manusia.
Lorenzo Fioramonti membongkar “kandungan” PDB dan menguak kepentingan-kepentingan politik yang memungkinkannya mendominasi perekonomian dunia saat ini. Ia juga menunjukkan beragam alternatif yang tengah diuji oleh berbagai negara, lembaga, dan organisasi sebagai ganti PDB.
——
“Seraya ekosistem planet ini dan perekonomian lokal serta nasional memburuk, bergerak melampaui PDB menjadi suatu keharusan demi bertahan hidup […]
Fioramonti memperkenalkan kita kepada inisiatif-inisiatif baru untuk mengukur kekayaan riil beserta kesejahteraan dan kebahagiaan.” — Vandana Shiva
220 pages, Paperback
First published January 17, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 6, 2017
Gross Domestic Problem discusses the rise of the metric called the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as well as its problems, and the solutions that have been suggested.
It illustrates how rulers and governments originally faced difficulty estimating the status of their countries, eventually making use of some metrics like acres of arable land and monetary value. Moving forward in time, the invention of GDP occurred during WW2, as America sought ways to decide how long it can sustain the war and how much should it produce. GDP condenses multiple, confusing metrics into a single value, simplifying governance and enabling policymakers to track the effectiveness of their policies. This also allowed America to identify where to allocate spare civilian manufacturing capacity into war making, without sacrificing its domestic industries. It also elevated economists from the academic platform onto the policy-making arena.
Although its creator considered GDP only as a war-time tool, the GDP metric became entranced in politicians and economists' mindset. Pockets of economists and thinkers had realised GDP was an inappropriate tool for measuring social and national progress. This was because it divided tasks into "productive" and "non-productive" tasks, and grouped capital into productive and non-productive capital. Things that did not contribute to the GDP were not tracked, and sometimes devalued by society. Some things that were sacrificed were the environment and family contributions. Open, public spaces, as well as home-care services provided by family members did not contribute to the GDP; they were better off redeveloped into industries or employed as workers. Nations were divided into developed and developing nations, with clout given to high GDP nations. Society began to believe that increasing the GDP, or income earned, is the path towards happiness. On a bigger scale, the usage of GDP encouraged businesses and governments to adopt cost-benefit-analysis towards decision-making. Risks, disasters, damages, and even human life (in actuarial sciences) could now be weighed using objective, neutral numbers.
Moving back to the topic of national prosperity: Rising income may bring happiness, but perhaps at diminishing returns beyond a point of self-sufficiency. Some countries and institutions tried to create new metrics for tracking progress. Indicators such as happiness, self-sufficiency, education opportunities, communal space, environmental preservation, work-life balance were used. Others felt the pressure of conventional thinking, and opined that improving GDP was easier than replacing it. They attempted to include capital losses, both in society and environment. However, these metrics often caused USA to fall behind European rankings, causing resistance to adoption, and leading some to remark that these indicators were nothing more than a measurement of how Scandinavian a country is.
There were many other criticisms of the new metrics or improved GDP. Some claim that the metrics were selective. Why was freedom of speech and gender equality not included? What about emerging trends such as internet neutrality and freedom of love?
One interesting argument put that instead of a single number, a dashboard of numbers should be used. For example, a car dashboard should contain multiple values such as Fuel Gauge, Motor RPM and Vehicle Speed, rather than condensing them into one pointless value.
Others argue against the futility of trying to value everything. Who decides the value of having parks and playgrounds? How much does a clean river cost? Using market value as a basis suffers the flaws of short-term valuation, as well the problem of equivalent exchange. Would it be fine to raze down a forest, if building kindergartens and swimming pools can offset the loss?
Actually, what this book covers is not so much just GDP, the economy, or even economics, but rather the socio-enviro-political impact GDP has on society. An interesting topic would be more on the psychological effects of value estimation and humans ability to do long-term planning, but that's probably an entirely different book/field.
It illustrates how rulers and governments originally faced difficulty estimating the status of their countries, eventually making use of some metrics like acres of arable land and monetary value. Moving forward in time, the invention of GDP occurred during WW2, as America sought ways to decide how long it can sustain the war and how much should it produce. GDP condenses multiple, confusing metrics into a single value, simplifying governance and enabling policymakers to track the effectiveness of their policies. This also allowed America to identify where to allocate spare civilian manufacturing capacity into war making, without sacrificing its domestic industries. It also elevated economists from the academic platform onto the policy-making arena.
Although its creator considered GDP only as a war-time tool, the GDP metric became entranced in politicians and economists' mindset. Pockets of economists and thinkers had realised GDP was an inappropriate tool for measuring social and national progress. This was because it divided tasks into "productive" and "non-productive" tasks, and grouped capital into productive and non-productive capital. Things that did not contribute to the GDP were not tracked, and sometimes devalued by society. Some things that were sacrificed were the environment and family contributions. Open, public spaces, as well as home-care services provided by family members did not contribute to the GDP; they were better off redeveloped into industries or employed as workers. Nations were divided into developed and developing nations, with clout given to high GDP nations. Society began to believe that increasing the GDP, or income earned, is the path towards happiness. On a bigger scale, the usage of GDP encouraged businesses and governments to adopt cost-benefit-analysis towards decision-making. Risks, disasters, damages, and even human life (in actuarial sciences) could now be weighed using objective, neutral numbers.
Moving back to the topic of national prosperity: Rising income may bring happiness, but perhaps at diminishing returns beyond a point of self-sufficiency. Some countries and institutions tried to create new metrics for tracking progress. Indicators such as happiness, self-sufficiency, education opportunities, communal space, environmental preservation, work-life balance were used. Others felt the pressure of conventional thinking, and opined that improving GDP was easier than replacing it. They attempted to include capital losses, both in society and environment. However, these metrics often caused USA to fall behind European rankings, causing resistance to adoption, and leading some to remark that these indicators were nothing more than a measurement of how Scandinavian a country is.
There were many other criticisms of the new metrics or improved GDP. Some claim that the metrics were selective. Why was freedom of speech and gender equality not included? What about emerging trends such as internet neutrality and freedom of love?
One interesting argument put that instead of a single number, a dashboard of numbers should be used. For example, a car dashboard should contain multiple values such as Fuel Gauge, Motor RPM and Vehicle Speed, rather than condensing them into one pointless value.
Others argue against the futility of trying to value everything. Who decides the value of having parks and playgrounds? How much does a clean river cost? Using market value as a basis suffers the flaws of short-term valuation, as well the problem of equivalent exchange. Would it be fine to raze down a forest, if building kindergartens and swimming pools can offset the loss?
Actually, what this book covers is not so much just GDP, the economy, or even economics, but rather the socio-enviro-political impact GDP has on society. An interesting topic would be more on the psychological effects of value estimation and humans ability to do long-term planning, but that's probably an entirely different book/field.
April 28, 2015
Boring. A lot of duplications and palaver. Could have made a nice magazine article maybe, short and to the point, but not a book. There is some interesting info on local currencies in times of economic distress.
June 3, 2020
I think one of way to train our brain to think out of the norm, is to read good book that discuss common topic in contradictive way. And this book is good for that reason. We all know, GDP is the measure of the size of an economy, to define the success level of a country. But in contradictory, because of that number, the growth of many negative impact to the environment and human seems aligned with GDP’s growth. An irony that finally answers my big question about this world. Through this book I found one of example on how small thing (just mere a number) can really bring huge impact to the history and human life.
A great book to read definitely. If you are like me, who isnt familiar in this area, you will find many new insight.
Lastly, I pray there will be more and more capitalist socialist, that is very driven for material success but put social purpose as their hard core goal.
A great book to read definitely. If you are like me, who isnt familiar in this area, you will find many new insight.
Lastly, I pray there will be more and more capitalist socialist, that is very driven for material success but put social purpose as their hard core goal.
November 15, 2017
When you hear that age is just a number, what about applying that to the infamous National's Gross Domestic Product in determining the welfare of a society. Numbers cannot always represent the quality of our lives.
May 31, 2018
Fioramonti menyebut PDB (GDP) sebagai angka yang paling berpengaruh di dunia. Bagaimana tidak? Semakin tinggi angka PDB, sebuah negara yang belum seabad merdeka bisa mendobrak peta politik global menjadi ‘negara maju baru’. Dengan kenaikan PDB yang progresif, seorang petahana kerap secara otomatis mendapatkan elektabilitas tinggi di pemilihan umum selanjutnya. Dengan pertumbuhan PDB yang terus meningkat, masyarakat secara psikologis ‘diyakinkan’ bahwa kondisi kehidupan mereka dari waktu ke waktu semakin sejahtera. Bahkan menariknya, besaran donasi dan amal sebuah negara maju ke negara berkembang akan melihat besaran PDB terlebih dahulu. Ya, seperti anda yang mungkin hendak memasukan Soekarno Hatta ke celengan masjid, apa daya isi dompet baru sanggup memasukan Pattimura?
Berangkat dari latar belakang tadi, pertanyaan muncul mengenai apa benar hanya dari satu jenis indeks, pengukuran terhadap kualitas hidup manusia bisa disimpulkan sesederhana itu? Dari judul bukunya, agaknya sudah diketahui bahwa isi kesuluruhan buku ini mencoba untuk menentang tesis tersebut. PDB jelas dianggap tidak dapat mewakili apa yang menjadi tujuan global. Angka tersebut tidak mencerminkan distribusi kekayaan dari si kaya dan si miskin, tidak mengukur kualitas hidup seseorang (you know money can’t buy me love, right?), bahkan PDB sama sekali menghiraukan aspek lingkungan. Mengingat urgensi perubahan iklim yang semakin kita rasakan dampaknya, hegemoni PDB yang terlalu berfokus pada produksi dan konsumsi tentu tidak boleh menjadi satu-satunya pertimbangan.
Dalam menjawab pertanyaan tersebut, buku ini dibagi menjadi empat bab yang cukup distingtif. Sejarah PDB yang awalnya digunakan sebagai alat berperang, PDB yang diibaratkan sebagai ‘Frankenstein’ karena tidak dapat dikendalikan bahkan oleh penciptanya sendiri, Simon Kuznet, hingga perlawanan-perlawanan terhadap hegemoni PDB dan beberapa indeks alternatif yang muncul setelahnya. Perlu dicatat bahwa Problem Domesti Bruto ditulis di tahun 2013 dimana dunia saat itu belum merumuskan tujuan pembangunan berkelanjutan (SDGs) yang menekankan krusialnya aspek lingkungan sebagai hal yang tidak bisa diabaikan. Jadi, bisa dibilang buku ini adalah sebuah sumbangan pemikiran cikal bakal urgensi kajian pembangunan yang berkelanjutan. Secara umum, saya tidak hanya merekomendasikan buku ini bagi pengkaji pembangunan, namun juga para environmentalist di luar sana yang sudah semakin geram akan keserakahan kapitalisme dan budaya konsumerisme global.
Berangkat dari latar belakang tadi, pertanyaan muncul mengenai apa benar hanya dari satu jenis indeks, pengukuran terhadap kualitas hidup manusia bisa disimpulkan sesederhana itu? Dari judul bukunya, agaknya sudah diketahui bahwa isi kesuluruhan buku ini mencoba untuk menentang tesis tersebut. PDB jelas dianggap tidak dapat mewakili apa yang menjadi tujuan global. Angka tersebut tidak mencerminkan distribusi kekayaan dari si kaya dan si miskin, tidak mengukur kualitas hidup seseorang (you know money can’t buy me love, right?), bahkan PDB sama sekali menghiraukan aspek lingkungan. Mengingat urgensi perubahan iklim yang semakin kita rasakan dampaknya, hegemoni PDB yang terlalu berfokus pada produksi dan konsumsi tentu tidak boleh menjadi satu-satunya pertimbangan.
Dalam menjawab pertanyaan tersebut, buku ini dibagi menjadi empat bab yang cukup distingtif. Sejarah PDB yang awalnya digunakan sebagai alat berperang, PDB yang diibaratkan sebagai ‘Frankenstein’ karena tidak dapat dikendalikan bahkan oleh penciptanya sendiri, Simon Kuznet, hingga perlawanan-perlawanan terhadap hegemoni PDB dan beberapa indeks alternatif yang muncul setelahnya. Perlu dicatat bahwa Problem Domesti Bruto ditulis di tahun 2013 dimana dunia saat itu belum merumuskan tujuan pembangunan berkelanjutan (SDGs) yang menekankan krusialnya aspek lingkungan sebagai hal yang tidak bisa diabaikan. Jadi, bisa dibilang buku ini adalah sebuah sumbangan pemikiran cikal bakal urgensi kajian pembangunan yang berkelanjutan. Secara umum, saya tidak hanya merekomendasikan buku ini bagi pengkaji pembangunan, namun juga para environmentalist di luar sana yang sudah semakin geram akan keserakahan kapitalisme dan budaya konsumerisme global.
February 9, 2023
Kitapta çok çok çok fazla tekrar var. Ayrıca, yazar bazı bölümlerde GDP’den bambaşka konulara dalıyor ve dolayısıyla kendinizi bir an “ben ne okuyordum, nereye geldik” modunda bulabilirsiniz.
Bu hususların dışında kitap GDP göstergesinin icad edilme sebebini, neden yaygın kullanıma eriştiğini, politika yapıcıların GDP’yi en önemli refah göstergesi olarak kabul etmesinin neden yanlış olduğunu, GDP’nin hesaplanmasındaki sorunları, GDP’yi tamamlama veya ikame amaçlı üretilen alternatif göstergeleri ve önemlisi GDP’ye dayanarak sürdürülebilir ve çevresel dengeleri gözeten bir kalkınmanın mümkün olmadığını güzelce ortaya koyuyor. Ancak kitapta çok fazla “tekrar” var dediğim gibi, bir süre sonra sinirlenebilirsiniz...
Bu hususların dışında kitap GDP göstergesinin icad edilme sebebini, neden yaygın kullanıma eriştiğini, politika yapıcıların GDP’yi en önemli refah göstergesi olarak kabul etmesinin neden yanlış olduğunu, GDP’nin hesaplanmasındaki sorunları, GDP’yi tamamlama veya ikame amaçlı üretilen alternatif göstergeleri ve önemlisi GDP’ye dayanarak sürdürülebilir ve çevresel dengeleri gözeten bir kalkınmanın mümkün olmadığını güzelce ortaya koyuyor. Ancak kitapta çok fazla “tekrar” var dediğim gibi, bir süre sonra sinirlenebilirsiniz...
May 2, 2023
This book was written by Lorenzo Fioramonti and was first published in 2013, as the title suggests, this book tries to describe the history of GDP and all its problems which are still used today. Created by Simon Kuznets, this GDP is simply the same as data collection in general, intended as a basis for better decision making. Unfortunately, this GDP is inseparable from several problems such as social inequality and environmental damage, which, if continuously ignored, will accumulate and create a time bomb that can explode and destroy society one day.
Apart from the imperfections in the GDP calculation model, the author also explains the context of the birth of this GDP and its use throughout history which cannot be separated from the political situation or the influence of power at that time.
Apart from discussing the history and problems of GDP, the author also provides a description of efforts or alternatives to this GDP model, which are more just and sustainable for both the environment and society. This really helps the reader to understand the problem the author is trying to convey in his book, and not get stuck in pessimism, or it can even inspire the reader so that better ideas can then be created to improve existing models.
Apart from the imperfections in the GDP calculation model, the author also explains the context of the birth of this GDP and its use throughout history which cannot be separated from the political situation or the influence of power at that time.
Apart from discussing the history and problems of GDP, the author also provides a description of efforts or alternatives to this GDP model, which are more just and sustainable for both the environment and society. This really helps the reader to understand the problem the author is trying to convey in his book, and not get stuck in pessimism, or it can even inspire the reader so that better ideas can then be created to improve existing models.
March 18, 2021
Bu kitaba nasıl mı ulaştım? Google' a GSYH eleştirisi yazdım ve elbette ki 80 milyon nüfuslu ülkede bu konuya değinen dişe dokunur bir yazıya ulaşamadım. Nedeni tabi ki eleştirel düşüncenin ülkemde bitirilmiş olması.
YÖK teze, büyümenin eleştirisi yazınca hiç bir şeye ulaşamıyorsun, ama büyüme yazsan 600 den fazla tez çıkıyor, hazin, kavramlar üzerine düşünülmeden kullanılıyor.
Kitap GDP’nin hikayesi aslında, kim bulmuştan başlayıp alternatif kavramları anlatıyor ve günümüzde yaygın kullanımını ve ekonomik anlatımlarla nasıl sorgusuz olumlandığını anlatıyor.
Son bölümde ise büyümeme (degrowth) hareketine ve ekolojik iktisada göndermeler var.
Bu konuda bir kitap yazılması bile tek başına övülmeye değer, üniversite yıllarımda bu kavramın ne kadar düz bir indirgeme olduğunu düşünür dururdum. Kitapta aslında en beğendiğim şey de bu oldu. Özetlersek Ekonomi üzerine çalışanlar, defalarca teknolojik ilerlemenin, gelişmenin karmaşık yapısını anlatıp dururlarken, doğrusal bir ifadeden ibaret olan GSYH(GDP) nasıl ilerleme kavramının kendisine indirgendi deniyor.
YÖK teze, büyümenin eleştirisi yazınca hiç bir şeye ulaşamıyorsun, ama büyüme yazsan 600 den fazla tez çıkıyor, hazin, kavramlar üzerine düşünülmeden kullanılıyor.
Kitap GDP’nin hikayesi aslında, kim bulmuştan başlayıp alternatif kavramları anlatıyor ve günümüzde yaygın kullanımını ve ekonomik anlatımlarla nasıl sorgusuz olumlandığını anlatıyor.
Son bölümde ise büyümeme (degrowth) hareketine ve ekolojik iktisada göndermeler var.
Bu konuda bir kitap yazılması bile tek başına övülmeye değer, üniversite yıllarımda bu kavramın ne kadar düz bir indirgeme olduğunu düşünür dururdum. Kitapta aslında en beğendiğim şey de bu oldu. Özetlersek Ekonomi üzerine çalışanlar, defalarca teknolojik ilerlemenin, gelişmenin karmaşık yapısını anlatıp dururlarken, doğrusal bir ifadeden ibaret olan GSYH(GDP) nasıl ilerleme kavramının kendisine indirgendi deniyor.
November 8, 2018
Mencengangkan
Betapa menariknya paradoks bahwa negara dengan anugerah kekayaan alam yang makmur malah menjadi negara miskin di depan keperkasaan angka PDB.
Dari buku ini saya belajar bahwa pertumbuhan ekonomi tidak selalu berbanding lurus dengan peningkatan kebahagiaan manusia.
Buku ini menyajikan banyak pandangan alternatif di luar penggunaan PDB. Sungguh buku yang menarik dan bermanfaat terutama bagi mereka penentang ekonomi arus utama
Lovely book
Betapa menariknya paradoks bahwa negara dengan anugerah kekayaan alam yang makmur malah menjadi negara miskin di depan keperkasaan angka PDB.
Dari buku ini saya belajar bahwa pertumbuhan ekonomi tidak selalu berbanding lurus dengan peningkatan kebahagiaan manusia.
Buku ini menyajikan banyak pandangan alternatif di luar penggunaan PDB. Sungguh buku yang menarik dan bermanfaat terutama bagi mereka penentang ekonomi arus utama
Lovely book
December 11, 2019
A rare book on one of the fundamental problems of the 21st century which affects everyone. Why the catch-all GDP measurement is flawed. Where it's weaknesses lay. And alternative measures of economic prosperity. Informative and thought provoking.
December 1, 2017
Topik dan pengkajian yang bagus, namun kualitas terjemahannya tidak begitu baik.
July 22, 2023
Review to come
May 6, 2022
About the history of number (in terms of economy) and comparison to happiness, around the world. At some point i found this book funny, because i could relate in some level. Writer deliver the topic well.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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