Abstract:
The concept of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has mostly encompassed economic as well as
social well-being of a society. While the significance of GDP as an economic indicator cannot be
dismissed, a growing number of researchers over the past few decades have called for analysis
beyond GDP to gauge social well-being, instead of the common method of using per capita GDP
as a social welfare proxy. In this paper, we question whether there is any relationship between
GDP and social progress for Pakistan. In this regard, we attempt to construct and adapt the Social
Progress Index (SPI) for Pakistan, to show comparisons between SPI and GDP over a period of
13 years and find a significant and negative relationship between GDP and SPI at an aggregate
level. However, once we break it down into Components and Dimensions, the results vary.
