Their preferred measure of economic welfare (MEW)
per capita showed a long-term growth rate markedly below that
of per capita NNP. At the same time, they observed that “progress
indicated by conventional national accounts is not just a myth
that evaporates when a welfare-oriented measure is substituted.”
And that judgement, I believe, remains valid today; one cannot
lightly dismiss the extent to which existing national account
aggregates, with all their defects, correlate well with a number
of important indicators reflecting quality of life