In what ways is GDP limited in measuring the real well-being of Filipino citizens?
Answer (2)
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a useful tool to measure the size of a country's economy, but it has many limitations when it comes to measuring the well-being or quality of life of its people. In the Philippine context, this is a very important issue because GDP growth does not always mean that all Filipinos are living better lives.First, GDP does not measure income inequality. For example, even if the GDP grows by 6% in a year, it does not tell us how that income is shared. It’s possible that the wealthy 10% of the population are getting richer while the poor remain poor or even get worse. In the Philippines, there are regions with high economic growth but also high poverty rates, such as parts of Mindanao.Second, GDP ignores unpaid work. Many Filipinos, especially women, spend hours doing valuable work like caring for children, the elderly, or doing household chores. These activities improve the well-being of families but are not counted in GDP because they are not paid.Third, GDP does not consider environmental costs. If a company cuts down forests for logging or a factory pollutes the river, this may increase GDP because it counts as production. But these actions reduce the quality of life and damage nature. In provinces like Palawan or parts of Rizal, rapid development sometimes results in environmental harm that GDP does not reflect.Fourth, GDP does not measure things like education quality, safety, political freedom, happiness, or health. A country might have a high GDP, but if schools are underfunded, hospitals are lacking, and crime is high, people may still be suffering.That’s why some experts propose other ways to measure progress, like the Human Development Index (HDI), which includes life expectancy and education, or even new ideas like Green GDP that deduct environmental damage.To sum up, while GDP is important for measuring economic activity, it does not capture the whole picture. For Filipino families, true well-being means not just money, but also access to education, healthcare, clean air and water, and the chance to live with dignity and purpose.
GDP is limited in measuring the real well-being of Filipino citizens because,It only measures economic output, not how wealth is distributed—so it doesn’t show income inequality.It ignores non-market activities like household work and volunteer services that contribute to well-being.It doesn’t account for environmental damage or resource depletion caused by economic activities.It overlooks quality of life factors such as health, education, and happiness.It doesn’t reflect informal economy activities, which are significant in the Philippines.So, GDP alone can’t fully capture how well people are actually living.
