MEASURING NATIONAL ECONOMIC WELL-BEING: REEVALUATING THE “MISERY INDEX”

Abstract

ABSTRACT The degree of national economic well-being with the associated macroeconomic outcomes is of considerable concern to policymakers. Hanke's Annual Misery Index (HMI) which is the sum of inflation rates, interest rate, GDP growth rate, and unemployment was explained and analyzed to provide a single statistic to measure the level of national economic well-being. In this paper, I offer a comprehensive approach to investigate the order of importance of macroeconomic performances for national economic well-being by analyzing HMI. This paper provides a framework for understanding the Misery Index around the world as the relative representation of national welfare. Keywords Misery Index, national economic wellbeing, macroeconomic variables, economic policy.