Contemporary critiques of GDP’s role in policymaking see it as an ideological abstraction, emblematic of neoliberalism, that misrepresents “real” economic conditions. What these critiques often ignore, however, is the unique circumstances that led to its creation.  Editor’s note: The current debate in economics seems to lack a historical perspective. To try to address this deficiency, … Continue reading The Invention of Economic Growth: The Forgotten Origins of Gross Domestic Product in American Institutionalist Economics