In order to resolve the problem of GDP measurement, Frank proposes the usage of the toil index which:
"Measures the number of hours that median earners must toil each month to be able to rent a house in a school district of at least average quality" (Frank, 2011). By using this index, Frank found that the actual situation was less positive than the one revealed by the measurement of the GDP and identified that the members of the middle class have to work significantly more in order to maintain their living standards. Also, the author found that the income inequality between the classes is increasing and that this is often overlooked.
All in all, Frank concludes that the positive and negative externalities are not adequately considered in the construction of the national and individual wealth with the aid of the GDP. At a personal level, it is found that Robert Frank is indeed right in his argumentation for a new means to measuring the national wealth. And this need is best explained by the fact that the modern day society has suffered numerous changes which need to be recognized. And at the level of the GDP distribution, it must be recognized that the GDP per capita does not faithfully reflect the individual wealth, especially in a context of the widening income gap.
On the other hand however, it must also...
And this is not only because of the computational efficiencies, but also because the results can be compared. In other words, the use of the gross domestic product in measuring domestic and individual prosperity is a globally accepted procedure, which allows international players to comparatively assess their results, and as such create benchmarks. The creation of new tools would as such be perceived as complementary to the usage of the GDP, rather than accepted as the replacement of the current method.
