Abstract

The UN Beyond-GDP report does not stop at measurement. It calls on governments to establish national measurement mechanisms by 2027 and to embed them in annual reporting, budget approval, cost-benefit analysis and accountability systems, citing the Netherlands' well-being report to parliament and well-being budgeting in Ireland, New Zealand, Italy and the United Kingdom. It also observes that indicators acquire sustained political support only when they enter routine government processes. This paper addresses the institutional interface between multidimensional measurement and policy.
Three components are presented. First, a policy-cycle framework specifying where Beyond-GDP indicators enter: agenda setting and target formulation, ex-ante appraisal, budget allocation, implementation monitoring, ex-post evaluation and accountability reporting. For each node we identify the responsible actor, the data requirement and the decision rule, drawing on Chinese practice in high-quality development evaluation, new-quality productive forces monitoring and ecological compensation.
Second, a decision-scenario simulation platform. Multidimensional indices are frequently criticised for lacking policy counterfactuals; the platform links indicator outcomes to policy instruments through an accounting-based simulation model and reports distributional impact assessments alongside aggregate effects, in line with the report's recommendation that distributional analysis accompany cost-benefit appraisal.
Third, a design for well-being budgeting: how targets, appropriations and performance frameworks should be structured so that multidimensional indicators can be audited, together with safeguards against the well-documented risks of indicator proliferation and target gaming.
The paper concludes with a transferable procedure for countries that wish to move from a published dashboard to a dashboard actually used in decisions, and with the corresponding requirements for statistical legislation and inter-agency coordination.