Historical wealth accounts for Britain: progress and puzzles in measuring the sustainability of economic growth

E. McLaughlin, N. Hanley, D. Greasley, J. Kunnas, L. Oxley, P. Warde

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    Estimates of Britain's comprehensive wealth are reported for the period 1760-2000. They include measures of produced, natural, and human capital, and illustrate the changing composition of Britain's assets over this time period. We show how genuine savings, GS (a year-on-year measure of the change in total capital and a claimed indicator of sustainable development) has evolved over time. Changes in total wealth are compared to alternative, investment-based measures of GS, including variants augmented with the value of exogenous technology. Additionally, the possible effects of population change on wealth, and the implications of including carbon-dioxide emissions in natural capital are considered.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)44-69
    Number of pages26
    JournalOxford Review of Economic Policy
    Volume30
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 20 May 2014

    Keywords

    • Comprehensive wealth
    • Genuine savings
    • Sustainability
    • British economic history

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