CARACAS, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Venezuela will soon track national progress by measuring health, the environment and the social economy as well as traditional accounting of the gross national product, the central bank chief said on Monday.
A growing number of countries around the world are using new indicators to measure well-being in society in response to criticism that gross domestic product data fails to reflect the value of environmental and other resources.
President Hugo Chavez has long complained that GDP measurements do not take into account progress in new areas of the public sector, such as lower health costs because of free clinics built by his government.
'We almost have the final product, which are satellite accounts,' banks chief Nelson Merentes told reporters, saying that the new measurements would track the 'social and productive economy' along with the environment, health, homes, tourism, energy and gold.
The accounts will complement, not replace, traditional GDP measurements, he said.
The United Kingdom is implementing a system to measure well-being alongside economic growth. France last year asked Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, who is admired by Chavez, to find new ways to measure economic progress taking into account social well-being.
Chavez's complaints about the shortcomings of GDP measurements became sharper following the country's plunge into a deep recession last year. Merentes says Venezuela's GDP will start growing again by the end of 2010.
(Reporting by Eyanir Chinea; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Andrew Hay) Keywords: VENEZUELA ECONOMY/ (frank.daniel@thomsonreuters.com; +58 212 277 2660; Reuters Messaging: frank.daniel.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
A growing number of countries around the world are using new indicators to measure well-being in society in response to criticism that gross domestic product data fails to reflect the value of environmental and other resources.
President Hugo Chavez has long complained that GDP measurements do not take into account progress in new areas of the public sector, such as lower health costs because of free clinics built by his government.
'We almost have the final product, which are satellite accounts,' banks chief Nelson Merentes told reporters, saying that the new measurements would track the 'social and productive economy' along with the environment, health, homes, tourism, energy and gold.
The accounts will complement, not replace, traditional GDP measurements, he said.
The United Kingdom is implementing a system to measure well-being alongside economic growth. France last year asked Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, who is admired by Chavez, to find new ways to measure economic progress taking into account social well-being.
Chavez's complaints about the shortcomings of GDP measurements became sharper following the country's plunge into a deep recession last year. Merentes says Venezuela's GDP will start growing again by the end of 2010.
(Reporting by Eyanir Chinea; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Andrew Hay) Keywords: VENEZUELA ECONOMY/ (frank.daniel@thomsonreuters.com; +58 212 277 2660; Reuters Messaging: frank.daniel.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.