National accounts

John Greenberg reports from Washington on the trials and tribulations of building a Gross National Product that accounts for environmental change. Advocates of greening up the economic measure claim it is crucial to include costs and gains to natural resources when weighing our national wealth.

Revised GDP numbers for the second quarter have just come out, and they are disappointing for those who hoped the U.S. was improving economically. What do the new numbers mean, and what can we do to improve our situation?

The recession in the US is technically over. GDP grew at a rate of 3.5% in the last three months ending in September. But there’s a growing cadre of economists who say GDP has outlived its usefulness as a gauge of economic health. Jason Margolis has more.