http://boingboing.net/2013/11/19/gdp-misses-out-the-value-of-st.html
"Because GDP uses the dollar-value of all transactions as a proxy for economic
vibrancy, it discounts to zero any productivity improvements that result in
expensive things becoming free. For example, if every technology company has to
license a Microsoft operating system for every one of its servers and products,
that's great for GDP: it adds billions to the national bottom line. But when
GNU/Linux comes along and zeros out the cost of operating systems for your
data-center and embedded systems, GDP drops."
Good point - GDP has been criticised for a long time on various grounds, but
this is a relatively new and important issue.
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
—
Andrew Pam
Partner, Glass Wings
http://glasswings.com.au/
