Philippe Aghion at the Festival of Civil Economy: "GDP is not everything, social mobility counts"
Quick Look
The Nobel Prize-winning economist Philippe Aghion, speaking at the Festival of Civil Economy, underlines the limits of GDP as an indicator of well-being, highlighting the importance of social mobility and the fight against poverty compared to the mere accumulation of wealth.
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Why It Matters
Economist Philippe Aghion expressed his opinions during the National Festival of Civil Economy.
"GDP is not an end in itself: we seek growth in the quality of life, and GDP does not capture many things." This was stated by the Nobel Prize-winning economist, Philippe Aghion, in a video interview screened at the National Festival of Civil Economy.
"Social mobility counts above all", he said, because "the fact that there are rich people is not a problem, the important thing is that there are no poor people. Poverty outrages me, together with the absence of social mobility. This is generally correlated to overall inequality".
Aghion observed that "for certain tumors, for example, before we operated systematically and today we take pills: it is a wonderful improvement that does not appear in the GDP. But the GDP remains useful: money does not bring happiness but it can contribute to it. In France, with half a point more growth, we could do many things: a better healthcare system, or flexsecurity, which costs a lot and you have to be able to pay".
In the economist's opinion "there are good and bad returns" because for example "if you innovate, I must allow you to become rich", but it is negative to use "that wealth to prevent other talents from emerging", as in "countries where consolidated companies are in collusion with the government: they buy ministers and ask not to let new ones in".
Open Questions
- What specific policies do you suggest to improve social mobility?
