Journal of Economic Literature
ISSN 0022-0515 (Print) | ISSN 2328-8175 (Online)
Measuring Progress: A Review Essay on The Pricing of Progress: Economic Indicators and the Capitalization of American Life by Eli Cook
Journal of Economic Literature
vol. 57,
no. 3, September 2019
(pp. 659–77)
Abstract
There is growing interest in the history of economic statistics, and Eli Cook has provided in The Pricing of Progress: Economic Indicators and the Capitalization of American Life a fascinating account of the era of economic measurement prior to the creation of the modern System of National Accounts. The story illustrates the dual character of statistics, which is the product of political contestation and social structures, as well as the data by which we can interpret the economy. Appreciating this duality through the history of economic measurement helps explain why political polarization today often seems to play out as competing interpretations of the "facts." In this context, the idea that GDP growth is a good measure of economic progress is increasingly being challenged, as both the "beyond GDP" agenda and digital disruption point to a growing wedge between what GDP is measuring and economic welfare. Economists should be engaging with the history of the statistics we use every day in order to be able to shape their future.Citation
Coyle, Diane. 2019. "Measuring Progress: A Review Essay on The Pricing of Progress: Economic Indicators and the Capitalization of American Life by Eli Cook." Journal of Economic Literature, 57 (3): 659–77. DOI: 10.1257/jel.20181517Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- C38 Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models: Classification Methods; Cluster Analysis; Principal Components; Factor Models
- E01 Measurement and Data on National Income and Product Accounts and Wealth; Environmental Accounts
- E23 Macroeconomics: Production
- N10 Economic History: Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations: General, International, or Comparative