Project
Measuring Inclusive Wealth in a Resource-dependent Country
Client
The Ivey Foundation
Objective
The Ivey Foundation recognizes that GDP, while relevant as a measure of current economic progress, must be complemented with new measures that reflect the prospects for the long-term sustainability of well-being. The concept of inclusive wealth – the value of all of the nation’s produced, human, natural and social capital – offers a sound basis for measuring sustainability. Businesses have for centuries measured both income and wealth – there is no reason nations should not do the same. While no country measures all the components of inclusive wealth, some – including Canada – are moving in that direction. As a country with a high level of well-being, much of which rests upon a substantial endowment of natural capital (more per capita than any other nation), Canada has much to gain from measuring inclusive wealth. Canada already has a relatively well developed program of wealth measurement and has the potential to emerge as a leader in this important domain. Building on the measures that already exist in Canada and on best international practice, this project resulted in Canada’s first-ever inclusive wealth report.
Our Role
Working with IISD and the other project partners, Midsummer Analytics provided overall project leadership and ensured effective liaison with the Ivey Foundation. We also took the lead on the development of the conceptual framework and making major contributions to the methodology, indicator selection and empirical outputs. We were lead author on all major project outputs, including the final report. We were also actively involved in communications with Mobilize Strategies, the project communications partner and with Global Forest Watch Canada, the project spatial analysis partner.
