Disrupting Economics: New Metrics for a Sustainable Future
Harvard Extension School
MGMT E-7037
Section 1
CRN 26889
Protests over government policies have become more commonplace in both advanced and emerging countries around the world. Angry citizens complain about a wide range issues including inequality, privacy, democracy, immigration, trade, job security, health care, and climate change. Are governments really failing to deliver what societies need and citizens want? Perhaps the answer lies in the way success is measured. Amid globalization and the rise of the digital economy, traditional economic measures like gross domestic product (GDP), unemployment, and stock market performance may be leaving governments and citizens with a distorted worldview—and a shaky foundation for policy decisions. This course investigates limitations with conventional yardsticks used for assessing national output, employment, inflation, productivity, and trade, and asks what components of a successful society we fail to measure at all. Public policies that are based on inaccurate or incomplete data are likely to have unintended consequences leading to financial meltdowns, environmental degradation, economic inequality, and pandemics. Moreover, failing to fully account for true costs can skew individual, corporate, and governmental behavior towards short-term versus sustainability. As a response, many scholars—from economists to sociologists—are formulating new metrics and new philosophies to address such concerns and to utilize the unprecedented amount of data now available for analysis. This course hopes to inspire social entrepreneurs to develop innovative, superior, and sustainable approaches to economics and finance that make the world better for all.
Registration Closes: January 23, 2025
Credits: 2
View Tuition Information Term
Spring Term 2025
Part of Term
Active Learning Weekend
Format
Active Learning Weekend
Credit Status
Graduate
Section Status
Open