Abstract

This paper reviews the attempts over the post-World War II years commencing roughly from the
Bretton Woods activity to measure primarily economic growth and subsequently some notion of
development across the countries of the world. It takes it point of departure from two papers –
one written by Sir Ian Diamond and another a relatively long time ago and Published in Pardee
Papers. Both papers acknowledge the desirability and inevitability of evolved systems of data
identification, collection, storage, analysis and communication that can change the organization of statistics and the configuration of the relevant collection and treatment organizations. The paper does not propose an action-ready solution to any lacuna in statistical methodology but proffers a number of considerations that may be looked at in proposing the statistical architecture for the future.

The author acknowledges the pioneering efforts of the early philosophers, mathematicians and
statisticians who established the metrics of an approach to understand the growth and fall in the wealth of nations in a situation of limited data and computing power. Their successors who
came into a world of advanced computing capabilities have been able to extend the boundaries of their study to include qualitative factors that although perceived by early thinkers, could not be included in the reckoning at that time because of the difficulty posed by the computing capability of the day, anemic by today’s standards.

The student of the early decades of the twenty-first century can refine the classic equations and
derive more refined estimates through the identification, separation and quantification of some
variables hitherto included in the ceteris paribus cage. The work on the national accounts
remains basically valid but continues to be an economic accounting measure while the world is becoming increasingly interested in assessing human development and measures of social cohesion. The recent entry of Big Data promises to change the manner, cost and
time taken to collect and process data.

The paper observes the change in life styles and the family structure generally and posits that
some of those changes may render non-applicable a number of definitions accepted in the past
such as the definition of household and the unit of enquiry in social and demographic surveys.
The definition and widespread understanding of the concept of population within a national
entity is questioned.

The paper identifies a number of challenges to international comparability which remain
essentially economics- and money-based and have not been able to reflect international disparities.

The paper suggests that an attempt be made to view the phenomena of growth and development
through a multi-dimensional lens. Such analysis may be able to explore the applicability of flow
dynamics to better understand the other relationships governing the outcomes of official and
natural stimuli to the assessment of the economic and social outcomes as purportedly and
inadequately measured by the assumption of ceteris paribus.