What are the key alternative measures to economic indicators?

Key alternative measures to economic indicators include social, environmental, and political indicators.

Economic indicators such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross National Product (GNP) have traditionally been used to measure a country's economic performance. However, these indicators do not provide a comprehensive picture of a country's overall well-being. Therefore, alternative measures have been developed to capture other aspects of societal progress.

Social indicators are one such alternative. These include measures of education, health, and social cohesion. For example, the Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistic of life expectancy, education, and per capita income indicators, which are used to rank countries into four tiers of human development. The HDI is designed to challenge the focus on economic growth and to put people and their capabilities at the centre of development strategies.

Environmental indicators are another alternative. These measure the state of the environment and the impact of human activity on it. They include measures of air and water quality, biodiversity, and the use of natural resources. The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) is a method of quantifying and numerically marking the environmental performance of a state's policies. This index has been developed to overcome the absence of a quantitative, data-driven method of environmental policy analysis.

Political indicators are also important. These measure the quality of a country's governance, including its respect for human rights, the rule of law, and the level of corruption. The Democracy Index, for example, is an index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) that measures the state of democracy in 167 countries, scoring each country on a scale from 0 to 10 based on 60 indicators grouped in five different categories.

In conclusion, while economic indicators are important, they do not provide a complete picture of a country's overall well-being. Therefore, social, environmental, and political indicators are key alternative measures that can provide a more comprehensive understanding of societal progress.