Where is the Wealth of Nations?

The World Bank recently launched its new report, Where is the Wealth of Nations? - which has been called a “millennium capital assessment.”

Meant to challenge the common assumptions about how nations generate their wealth, the report offers new estimates of a country’s total wealth by including produced capital, natural resources, and the value of human skills and capabilities. The argument being that current wealth indicators fail to capture deteriorations to natural resources and the environment. 

   

The report confirms the worry of many that the world’s poorest countries are not on a sustainable path since they are so dependent upon their decreasing “natural wealth.” Although the companion booklet, Ensuring Environmental Sustainability, highlights some important exceptions – such as Mauritania and Botswana.

See the press release, or interviews with the authors.

Update: Resumen en español.