global welfare– “…  GPI per person peaked in 1978 and has been declining slowly but steadily ever since.  –  This contrasts sharply with the steady increase in GDP per capita since then, and implies that social and environmental woes have outpaced the growth of monetary wealth.

However, other experts point out how the average person in developing countries is better off now: world poverty rates have fallen and life expectancy has risen. While GPI isn’t a perfect economic welfare indicators, the researchers say it’s a far better estimation than GDP, and could help policy-makers balance the costs and benefits of economic development”