The Alberta GPI: 51 Indicators of "Progress"
"...the welfare of a nation can scarcely be inferred from a measurement of national income..."
Building on the work of Redefining Progress, Mark Anielski and Amy Taylor of The Pembina Institute
first published the GPI accounts for Alberta in 2000.
These accounts tracked 51 indicators from 1961 to 1999. The indicators were grouped as economic, social or environmental.
A report was presented for each indicator, and the information was combined to form one consolidated indicator of well-being for Alberta that was presented both as an index and as a monetary estimate. A series of 20 technical reports were also produced. The technical reports describe the methodology and sources used to develop the indicators.
To celebrate Alberta's 100th anniversary in 2005, Pembina economist, Amy Taylor, updated the 51 indicators that form the Alberta GPI accounts.
So how is Alberta doing?
While Alberta's GDP continues to rise, the province's GPI has leveled off. This indicates that our economic prosperity may be occurring at a cost to the environment and the social well-being of our communities.
- Read Amy Taylor's Alberta GPI Updated Summary Report (2005)
- Check out 51 Alberta GPI Indicator Summary and 20 Technical reports below (2005)
- View the Alberta GPI Slide Show
- Get the original report: The GPI: A Principled Approach to Economics (1999)
Alberta GPI Summary and Technical Reports
Alberta's GPI: 12 Economic Indicators
1. Economic Diversity
» Summary report
A diversified economy protects society from boom and bust cycles that
lead to social problems. In this summary, the percent of the GDP
attributable to each industry in Alberta is tracked giving a measure
for Alberta's diversification.
2. Economic Growth
» Summary report
The Genuine Progress Indicator uses GDP to measure "Economic Growth."
Economic growth is 1 of the 51 indicators that make up the GPI. The GDP
measures the flow of money into the economy well but fails to
differentiate spending that detracts from societal well-being from
spending that contributes to it.
3. Trade
» Summary report
Alberta's economic prosperity is highly dependent on trade, primarily
the export of natural capital such as coal, oil, gas, timber and
agricultural products. The monetary value of exports from Alberta's
economy is analyzed.
4. Disposable Income
» Summary report
Alberta's increasing GDP is analyzed in relation to disposable
income. The results suggest that not all Albertans are benefiting from
a booming economy.
5. Weekly Wage Rate
» Summary report » Technical report
The average weekly salaries of Albertans between 1961 and 2003 are
measured. Using the GPI model, salaries are analyzed in relation to
debt and savings to give a more accurate measure of household economic
stability.
6. Personal Expenditures
» Summary report
Spending on goods and services after income tax and other mandatory
income deductions is an indicator of personal expenditures. This
summary looks at how Albertans spend their personal money and how those
patterns have changed over time.
7. Transportation Expenditures
» Summary report » Technical report
The GPI assesses how much money Albertans are spending on
transportation and what the associated environmental costs are.
8. Taxes
» Summary report
This summary looks at how much money Albertans are paying on taxes and
whether or not this spending enhances social well-being.
9. Savings
» Summary report
Savings are what is left over from income after all living expenditures
including taxes have been made. Here we explore the trend in savings
over time.
10. Household Debt
» Summary report
The cost of household debt servicing is based on an estimate of the
interest payments on chartered bank customer loans. Household debt grew
more than five times faster per annum than disposable income between
1961 and 2003.
11. Public Infrastructure
» Summary report
In GPI accounting, the value provided by public infrastructure is
measured. For example the GPI measures the value that people realize
from the existence of streets and highways.
12. Household Infrastructure
» Summary report » Technical report
The GDP tells us that the more we spend on personal automobiles,
dishwashers and other household infrastructure, the better off we are.
The GPI attempts to measure the value of services from these items
rather than the value of the items themselves.
Alberta's GPI: 21 Social Indicators
13. Poverty
» Summary report
High levels of poverty, like high levels of income inequality erode
social well-being. This summary assesses the trends in poverty in
Alberta.
14. Income Distribution
» Summary report
The GDP is indifferent to how money and wealth distribution affect
social cohesion. This GPI indicator takes a closer look at the growing
gap between the top and bottom income groups in Alberta.
15. Unemployment
» Summary report » Technical report
The GPI accounts place value on free time, but recognizes that forced
free time may be a social burden. This account examines unemployment in
Alberta.
16. Under-employment
» Summary report » Technical report
This indicator examines part-time work and full-time work to gain a
better understanding of how underemployment affects Albertans.
17. Paid Work
» Summary report » Technical report
This summary looks at trends in paid work in Alberta.
18. Household Work
» Summary report » Technical report
Unpaid household duties include domestic work (e.g., cleaning),
parenting, eldercare, household management, shopping and transportation
and travel related to these activities. The amount of time spent on
household duties between 1961 and 2003 are analysed.
19. Parenting and Eldercare
» Summary report » Technical report
The parenting and eldercare account investigates trends in time spent
raising children and looking after aging parents and suggests reasons
for its decline.
20. Free time
» Summary report » Technical report
This indicator looks at how much free time Albertans have. Despite a rise is overall free time, studies show that women are increasingly stressed for time as they juggle work, family and household commitments.
21. Volunteerism
» Summary report » Technical report
The GDP measures only economic transactions that take place in the
market and so does not account for volunteer work. Shifts from
volunteerism to paid work is a false addition to the GDP as true social
production has not changed.
22. Commuting
» Summary report » Technical report
According to the GDP, the more money people spend on getting to and
from work the better off society is. The GPI, on the other hand calls
this kind of spending "regrettable" and accounts for it as a loss.
23. Life Expectancy
» Summary report » Technical report
Life expectancy is one of the key indicators of human health and
wellness. The GPI accounts include various measures of health and
wellness as proxies for health and well-being.
24. Premature Mortality
» Summary report » Technical report
Premature mortality is measured in terms of person years of life lost
and is an important measure of human health and well-being.
25. Infant Mortality
» Summary report » Technical report
The Alberta GPI accounts give a brief evaluation of children's health,
examining trends in infant mortality and low birth-weight babies.
26. Obesity
» Summary report » Technical report
Obesity is an increasingly important dimension of human health as more
Albertans, Canadians and Americans are overweight. The GPI looks at the
trend in obesity rates in Alberta.
27. Suicide
» Summary report » Technical report
The GPI accounts consider suicide a regrettable action and a social
cost. This summary examines suicide rates in relation to economic
growth with some disturbing observations.
28. Drug Use
» Summary report » Technical report
Drug use and the economy of the drug trade affects all of society
through health costs, crime, financial stress and other negative
impacts on social cohesion. This summary discusses the economic and
social costs of drug use in Alberta.
29. Auto Crashes
» Summary report » Technical report
Auto crashes impose a significant cost to society. Expenditures related
to automobile accidents increase the GDP. The GPI identifies such
expenditures as "regrettable".
30. Divorce
» Summary report » Technical report
The number of marriages ending in divorce in Alberta are assessed.
Increased divorce rates means that more children are experiencing their
parents' separation and growing up in single parent homes.
31. Crime
» Summary report » Technical report
The more crime we have, the more money we spend on home security
systems, security guards, burglar alarms, policing, courts, corrections
and other items. These expenses are counted as a positive addition to
the GDP because it does not distinguish between expenditures that
contribute to a society's well-being and those that do not.
32. Problem Gambling
» Summary report » Technical report
Is a rise in gambling expenditures a sign of an unhealthy society or a financially
stressed society that seeks a "get-rich-quick" solution. This indicator
examines the question.
33. Voter Participation
» Summary report » Technical report
Voter participation is one measure of the health of democracy. This
account examines several possible ways to measure the health of
democracy and presents data on the trend in voter participation.
34. Educational Attainment
» Summary report
A rise in GDP would suggest that we are reaping the benefits of a more
educated population, however the evidence of stagnant real wages and
disposable income suggests that not everyone is sharing in the returns
on knowledge investments.
Alberta's GPI: 16 Environmental Indicators
35. Oilsands Reserve Life
» Summary report
Non-renewable energy resource extraction such as oilsands and coal have
provided Alberta with enormous wealth. This summary assesses whether or
not the use of these resources is sustainable.
36. Oil and Gas Reserve Life
» Summary report
As the GDP has grown exponentially in the past 40 years, so too has the
drawing down of Alberta's non-renewable natural capital. Prudent
accounting would treat the depreciation of a capital stock as a cost
against income, but the GDP fails to do this.
37. Energy Use
» Summary report » Technical report
Energy use in Canada and Alberta are increasing steadily. This is
especially true for the industry and transportation sectors. This
summary assesses primary energy use in Alberta.
38. Agriculture Sustainability
» Summary report » Technical report
Ever increasing inputs such as fertilizers and herbicides are
contributing to an continuing decline in profits for farmers in
Alberta. This summary looks at current agricultural practices and
examines whether or not they are environmentally, socially or
economically sustainable.
39. Timber Sustainability
» Summary report » Technical report
The timber sustainability summary uses 2 indices to asses the state of Alberta's timber capital against the GDP.
40. Forest Fragmentation
» Summary report » Technical report
The real impacts of forest fragmentation are only just beginning to be
understood. In the meantime Alberta's forests continue to be
fragmented.
41. Fish and Wildlife
» Summary report » Technical report
Many species in Alberta are at risk. This indicator examines economic
growth and activities such as commercial and sport fishing as well as
species at risk in Alberta.
42. Parks and Wilderness
» Summary report » Technical report
Loss of habitat is a major cause of species decline and protecting it
is essential to preserve biodiversity. This study assess the state of
Alberta's protected wilderness areas.
43. Wetlands
» Summary report » Technical report
In the GPI system of accounting, the loss of wetlands results in a loss
of ecosystem function. The destruction of wetlands result in a societal
cost.
44. Peatlands
» Summary report » Technical report
Peatlands play a vital ecological role as a filtration system for
water. In addition they store massive amounts of carbon. The GPI
Accounts apply a value to this service and count the loss peatlands as
a cost.
45. Water Quality
» Summary report » Technical report
Although improvements have been made in Alberta's sewage treatment for
municipal areas, source control regulations are vital to curb
contaminants entering surface waters from storm sewers. This summary
looks at the state of Alberta's water supply.
46. Air Quality
» Summary report » Technical report
Poor air quality can lead to premature deaths. This indicators examines
trends in particulate matter and other sources of pollution in Alberta.
47. Greenhouse Gas
» Summary report » Technical report
As Alberta expands its extraction of natural gas and oilsands, it's
global carbon footprint also grows. This summary estimates direct
global warming and air pollution costs.
48. Carbon Budget
» Summary report2005
The carbon content of fuels has taken on significant market and
strategic value in recent years. Alberta's carbon deficit continues to
grow as economic growth expands impacting not only Alberta, but the rest of the world.
49. Hazardous Waste
» Summary report » Technical report
Hazardous waste disposal costs Alberta businesses, taxpayers and
governments millions of dollars every year. The GPI accounts identify
these expenditures as "regrettable" since in the absence of toxic waste
these costs would not occur.
50. Landfill Waste
» Summary report » Technical report
Alberta has one of the highest per capita non-hazardous waste rates in
Canada and waste management and environmental costs are significant.
This summary assesses municipal and environmental costs for waste
management in Alberta.
51. Ecological Footprint
» Summary report » Technical report
The ecological footprint compliments other indicators of the GPI by
providing a benchmark of sustainability for Alberta. Alberta's
ecological footprint grew significantly between 1961 and 2003.
