Inclusive Wealth Report 2018 - Executive Summary

The correct measure of a nation’s opulence is its inclusive wealth. Inclusive wealth is the dynamic version of income. It is the accounting value of an economy’s stock of manufactured capital, human capital, and natural capital (hence the qualifier “inclusive”). An economy’s inclusive wealth is the accounting value of its stock of assets. Wealth is a stock, whereas income is a flow. In a stationary economy the two amounts to the same thing, but they can point in different directions when an economy is not in a stationary state. This is what the authors of the Inclusive Wealth Report 2018 show.