--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-7/why-net-domestic-product-should-replace-gross-domestic-product-as-a-measure-of-economic-growth/" title: "Why Net Domestic Product Should Replace Gross Domestic Product as a Measure of Economic Growth" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T05:43:05+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T06:41:28+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Fall 2003" ipm_keyword: - "capital intensity" - "depreciation" - "economic growth" - "GDP" - "ICT" - "measurement" - "Net Domestic Product" - "OECD" - "welfare" ipm_research_theme: - "Measurement and methodology" ipm_country_focus: - "International" - "OECD" - "Sweden" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Why Net Domestic Product Should Replace Gross Domestic Product as a Measure of Economic Growth Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-7/why-net-domestic-product-should-replace-gross-domestic-product-as-a-measure-of-economic-growth/ # Why Net Domestic Product Should Replace Gross Domestic Product as a Measure of Economic Growth [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-7-3-Spant.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Spant, Roland. 2003. “Why Net Domestic Product Should Replace Gross Domestic Product as a Measure of Economic Growth.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 7 (Fall 2003): 39–43. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-7/why-net-domestic-product-should-replace-gross-domestic-product-as-a-measure-of-economic-growth/ ## Author: - Roland Spant Confederation of Professional Employees (TCO), Sweden ## IPM Issue 7 Fall 2003 pp. 39–43 ## Related IPM articles [Is the SNA Still Useful? 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Catherine Mann Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 3–19](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/could-domestic-industrial-policies-even-with-global-fragmentation-revive-productivity/) [Employment, Output and Productivity Adjustment During the Great Recession: The Role of Managerial Quality Gilbert Cette, Jimmy Lopez, Jacques Mairesse, Giuseppe Nicoletti Spring 2024 | IPM Issue 46 | pp. 101–108](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-46/employment-output-and-productivity-adjustment-during-the-great-recession-the-role-of-managerial-quality/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn This article argues that Net Domestic Product (NDP) should replace Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the primary measure of economic growth for welfare-related purposes. The key difference is depreciation: as investment has shifted toward short-lived ICT assets, the depreciation share of GDP has risen in most OECD countries, causing GDP growth to increasingly overstate the growth of net output available for consumption or net investment. The author draws on Edward Denison’s original use of net product measures and argues that NDP is the more appropriate yardstick for assessing the potential for real wage and real profit gains. Cet article soutient que le produit intérieur net (PIN) devrait remplacer le produit intérieur brut (PIB) comme principale mesure de la croissance économique à des fins liées au bien-être. La différence essentielle réside dans l’amortissement : comme l’investissement s’est déplacé vers des actifs en TIC à courte durée de vie, la part de l’amortissement dans le PIB a augmenté dans la plupart des pays de l’OCDE, faisant en sorte que la croissance du PIB surestime de plus en plus la croissance de la production nette disponible pour la consommation ou l’investissement net. L’auteur s’appuie sur l’utilisation originelle des mesures de produit net par Edward Denison et soutient que le PIN est l’étalon le plus approprié pour évaluer le potentiel de croissance des salaires réels et des profits réels. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-7-3-Spant.pdf)