Beyond GDP
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| Photo Credit: OSHO NEWS |
As
Indian economic policy experiments have passed through the phases of
Nationalisation to liberalisation to inclusion across the timeline of more than
sixty years since independence, the citizens of the country have shared the fruits
and have bore the brunt in various ways. India has made enormous economic
progress with conventional indicator like Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but has
failed to improve the quality of life en
mass. Such progress has created enclaves of opportunities but neglected the
masses. Inequality and its complex proliferation is the foremost challenge in
India now, which constantly provokes the idea of an alternative development
instrument.
GDP
the most widely followed metric assesses the performance of an economy, simply by
measuring the market value of all final goods and services produced within a
country in a given period. It takes into account the growth of commercial and
economic activities but cannot capture the pertinent issues of assessing
overall well-being of a country. Attempts are therefore increasingly being made
across the world to look beyond GDP for an alternative measure to assess the well-being
of a nation through a multi-dimensional approach like creating access to
resources; reducing hunger, poverty and inequality, and imbibing distributive
justice. These can change the lives of millions by ensuring opportunities,
economic freedom and social harmony.
Alternative
Approaches
Reducing inequalities and subsequent conflicts amongst people is one of the major
challenges in the world today. Way back in 1972, the small Asian nation, Bhutan
had introduced Gross National Happiness (GNH), an alternative to GDP with four
pillars of good governance, sustainable socio-economic development, cultural
preservation and environmental conservation. In 1990, another alternative to
GDP that is Human Development Index (HDI) was pioneered by two Asian thinkers Mahbu
bul Haq and Amartya Sen, which incorporates health and education along with
income. In the year 2008, when French president Nicholas Sarzoky looked for next
alternative to GDP, a revolutionary report was brought out with emphasis on
social progress.The report emphasizes on quality of life and sustainability
along with classical GDP. In the following year in 2009 another study made by a
group of scholars from World Bank on ‘Measuring Inequality of Opportunity in
Latin America and Caribbean’, emphasises Human Opportunity Index to measure inequality
in opportunities in basic services. The idea was inspired by the social welfare
function proposed by Sen in 1976 and holds that in development process, society
needs an equitable supply of basic opportunities and people need access to these
opportunities, with a target of universalism. Sen’s powerful idea of Capability
Approach in 1980s also has widened the scope of development theory with
emphasis on quality of life and removing the obstacles to achieve more freedom
to choose.
To
evolve development policies with such ideas of progressive economy with
centrality on human wellbeing, a country needs fair political democracy, which
was realized by the visionaries of newly born India and was reflected in the
constitution of India in 1950 emphasising the three core values of justice,
freedom and equality for citizens in India. Democracy, which is synonymous with
individual sovereignty and equality, has a causal relationship with progressive
economic development. It is being empirically tested that democratic institutes
have net positive effect on progressive economic development, the later is perceived as a process of transition for a better living
taking place along a continuum of ever-changing ideas and ethos in the life of
a nation or society.But in
many practicing democracy like India, economic elites mostly manage to retain disproportionate
influence, and preserve the profit-seeking anti-poor biases and distort the
idea of democracy. This denies social
justice, tends to deprive many and excludes the voices of the
marginalized. This is primarily because the practicing development policiesis mostly
a conventional post war western idea and premised on
rational individual, capital formation and inequality. Such economic
development which necessarily influences political discourse tends to create
chaos and denies egalitarian frame, and thus democracy tends to function
non-optimally. To attend a causal relationship between economic development and
democracy, the existing development model needs a revisit incorporating voice,
representation and rights.
Way Forward
With
the recent change in political regime in 16thLokSabha election, India is expected to see some major policy shifts
towards stronger market-oriented and liberal frame to push GDP growth rates.
This may boost the economy, making the rich richer, but also has probability of
increasing marginalization of small voiceless communities. The erstwhile govt.
has made tremendous attempt to protect many such communities through
path-breaking right based policies, as rights are the channels of resistance. To
ensure long term sustainable development, such emphasis on policies with an
institutional frame is crucial, which alone can bring social change in India. The
policy instruments of new political representation needs to continue to evolve
within such inclusive frame, which alone can ensure redistribution, enhance social
justice and enable economic autonomy and well-being of every section of the
society. Political democracy therefore needs to create space through debates and
dialogues for alternative development policy initiatives, which can make ways
for every individual to live with dignity and freedom, and
can encounter divides and disparities in the society.
Rakhee
Bhattacharya
