The Measure of Progress: Counting What Really Matters - with Diane Coyle

Thursday 22 May 2025 | 18:00 - 20:30 | Evening Event

Statistics are more than just numbers – they’re the backbone of effective economic policies and touch on critical issues of freedom, justice, and even life and death. As governments and machines increasingly rely on statistics to make decisions that impact our lives, it's crucial to have accurate and relevant data. But the model's governments use were developed in the 1940s – is this an antiquated method that’s distorting our view of the modern, digital world?

Join us for an insightful evening with economist Diane Coyle, former economics editor of The Independent and current Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge who will discuss her groundbreaking book, "The Measure of Progress: Counting What Really Matters". This book challenges conventional economic metrics and proposes a new way of thinking about economic growth and societal well-being.

Diane will challenge almost all of our assumptions in the current economic model and will explore the need for a new framework for economic statistics. A model that reflects the importance of natural capital, intangible value, and the need to manage supply rather than demand. By collecting different data within a new framework of categories and definitions, policymakers, businesses, and individuals can better understand the economy and shape a brighter future.

This is a unique opportunity to look at the economy from a different perspective with help from one of the leading voices in economics today.

Timings

Registration: 18:00 - 18:30
Programme: 18:30 - 19:30