Genuine Progress Indicator - GPI

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DEFINITION of 'Genuine Progress Indicator - GPI'

A metric used to measure the economic growth of a country. It is often considered as a replacement to the more well known gross domestic product (GDP) economic indicator. The GPI indicator takes everything the GDP uses into account, but also adds other figures that represent the cost of the negative effects related to economic activity (such as the cost of crime, cost of ozone depletion and cost of resource depletion, among others). The GPI nets the positive and negative results of economic growth to examine whether or not it has benefited people overall.

INVESTOPEDIA EXPLAINS 'Genuine Progress Indicator - GPI'

The GPI metric was developed out of the theories of green economics (which sees the economic market as a piece within a ecosystem). Proponents of the GPI see it as a better measure of the sustainability of an economy when compared to the GDP measure. Since 1995 the GPI indicator has grown in stature and is used in Canada and the United States. However, both these countries still report their economic information in GDP to remain in line with the more widespread practice.