Singing Our Way to Positive GDP

Just a few weeks ago I attended ​​a concert by a seniors choral society in my hometown of Badalona, Barcelona. The concert was held in a local church and was a real success. An audience of 400 spectators with 100 performers and contributors enjoyed nearly two hours of music within those ancient walls.  

It was a wonderful night. I was accompanied by my family and I also met some long-lost childhood friends. I must admit I was surprised by the quality of the concert; the energy of the room and how the mystery of the music made my mind create, imagine and dream.

So how does this relate to GDP?

Well, I’m a typical economist! Although the concert was a great experience, that brought happiness to many and a feel good factor to the community; I could not help wondering whether it actually contributed anything to the wealth of the country.

My mind was restless. Part of my brain told me that the concert did not create something new and therefore didn’t add to gross domestic product (GDP). So from a classic economics point of view, it was not adding anything to our collective national wealth.

But did that matter?

Then I thought a bit more. On the one hand the concert was free, no entrance was paid, so no income was generated. On the other hand, there was no waste (good for the environment!) and there was no net increase in economic consumption.

So what was the economic, social or environmental impact of such a lovely experience?

The conventional definition of GDP is that it improves only when there is an increase in consumption, in investment, or in government spending, or when exports show a higher performance than imports. The concert experience made me think; how important is GDP? Is it a true measure of the wealth of a community or indeed the wealth of a nation?

No consumption, investment, imports or exports occurred during that magical event but the connectivity, relationship building, and let’s face it, happiness, we felt as an audience, will probably last much longer and create a more powerful experience then buying a new smartphone or by going to dinner. And isn’t that the real point here?

We’ve evolved as a society to base prosperity and wealth on economic consumption. This is a mistake of huge proportions and it’s intrinsically tied to over consumption. So how do we rectify this, and as economists how can we be part of the solution? I suggest we need to take a closer look at what gets measured and monitored in terms of GDP, and find ways of adjusting the approach to be more holistic. As economists we desperately need to understand that the economy must serve communities and must evolve to help society achieve holistic wealth through balanced economic, social and environmental prosperity. We need to defend that and build upon it.

The concert did not probably add much to GDP but, believe me, it added a lot to happiness and community cohesion.

Maybe if we knew how to measure happiness through an evolved definition of prosperity, we could guide consumers, individuals, organisations and governments, to make better decisions on where to invest, save and spend. 

Values-based Banking for a Better World

I predict a quiet but powerful revolution in the banking sector that will return banks to their people-centred roots. I believe the strongest banks will not be the biggest banks, as we currently understand them, but those recognising their true value to society – acting as financial intermediaries; and acting as servants of the people, organisations and the communities that make them possible. I dream that in the future, the most successful banks will be those investing consistently in social, economic and environmental change.

A different kind of banking

The Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV) comprises banks and banking cooperatives across Asia, Africa, Australia, Latin America, North America and Europe; serving 20 million customers; holding up to $100 billion of combined assets under management; and powered by a network of 30,000 co-workers. Alliance members have different operating models but collectively they share a common mission to use finance to find global solutions to international problems—and to promote a positive, viable alternative to the current financial system.

A challenge to change perceptions

In values-based banking, profit is a consequence of serving real needs in a real economy – not an end goal. This is different to the current ‘’mainstream’’ banking system and shifting this perception among bankers, policy makers and the public is a challenge for the GABV. A second challenge is to find, connect, learn from and work with new Alliance members. The more we grow as a network of profitable values-based banks, the stronger we become in connecting and learning from each other, advocating for change, and assisting mainstream banks to shift their banking models.

An opportunity to partner in Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia (MENASA)

We’re uncovering a growing number of banks in the MENASA region whose principles have close ties with those of GABV members, and we’d like to connect them to our members, so that they can collaborate and grow. A new fund initiated by the GABV in March, called SFRE, is also available as a very practical support vehicle to potential members. SFRE is the first global open-ended investment umbrella fund, with a $1 billion ambition, developed to deploy substantial amounts of long term capital to banks with a proven track record of serving the real economy by meeting the needs of individuals, enterprises and communities they serve, whilst also delivering robust and stable financial returns.

A growing movement

This is what we call values-based banking, and it is a growing, global movement. Behind the movement is GABV, a not-for-profit foundation that advocates and convenes the best examples of values-based banking from around the world. Together we can change the world!

La coral y el producto interior bruto

Hace tan sólo unas semanas asistí en mi ciudad natal, Badalona, a un concierto interpretado por una coral de algo más de un centenar de personas mayores acompañadas por algunos músicos aficionados y dirigidas por profesores de música voluntarios. El concierto se celebró en una parroquia de la localidad y fue un verdadero éxito. Habría en la parroquia más de cuatrocientas espectadores que, sumadas al centenar largo entre cantantes y músicos, sumaban más de quinientas almas disfrutando de casi dos horas de música entre aquellas antiguas paredes.

Asistí acompañado de mi esposa, de mi padre, de mi hermano y de su mujer, de una de mis primas, de algunos de mis sobrinos,. Vamos: una amplia representación de mi familia que acudimos en masa a escuchar a la coral en la que cantaba mi madre, una de las muchas entusiastas cantantes amateurs que componían el grupo.  Allí coincidí también aquella noche con algunos amigos de la infancia, personas que no veía desde hacía mucho tiempo y con otros conocidos.

Debo reconocer que me sorprendió la calidad del concierto, con algunas piezas de ópera, de zarzuela española y de canción popular. Muchas, piezas conocidas desde que era niño, y que me trasladaban flotando a otros lugares a otros tiempos. Fue una velada entrañable y mágica para todos los allí presentes, familiares, amigos, vecinos y, sobre todo para los músicos y para los esforzados cantantes, que habian dedicado muchísimas horas de su tiempo a ensayar para hacer posible aquel gran momento de felicidad para más de quinientas almas reunidas en una antigua iglesia.

Yo me sentía feliz, y la felicidad que me proporcionó aquel concierto me acompañó durante días. Y, me consta que no fuí el único que se había sentido feliz. Me atrevería a decir que las más de quinientas personas que compartimos aquellas horas  salimos de la iglesia aquella noche henchidas de gozo, habiendo compartido cultura en forma de música popular, sintiéndonos mejores personas y sintiéndonos parte de una comunidad. Los cantantes porque daban rienda suelta a su aficción delante de sus vecinos y amigos, los músicos porque colaboraban en hacer posible aquella velada y el público porque los arropábamos a todos ellos y porque disfrutábamos con su arte.

Pero mi mente de economista iconoclasta no descansaba ni en esos momentos de felicidad y, uno de los canales libres de mi cerebro se encargó de recordarme que  el acto al que asistía no computaba para el producto interior bruto (PIB) de mi país y, por lo tanto, desde el paradigma clásico de la economía, no estaba añadiendo nada a la riqueza nacional. Claro, era un concierto gratuito, nadie pagaba entrada, luego no había consumo. Los cantantes y músicos eran aficionados y por tanto no cobraban por su actuación,  no percibían ingresos,  y la parroquia había cedido la utilización de la iglesia gratuitamente, luego tampoco había consumo en términos de alquileres.

De manera simplificada, para que el producto interior bruto de un país se vea afectado en positivo, tiene que incfrementarse o el consumo, o la inversión, o el gasto público, o mostrar un mejor comportamiento las exportaciones que las importanciones.  Nada de aquello había ocurrido durante el concierto de la coral y, sin embargo, la felicidad que me produjo aquel acto fue seguramente mucho mayor y duradera que el placer que me pudiera haber producido el comprarme un nuevo smartphone o el acudir a cenar a un restaurante de lujo. Tal vez eso ocurra porque confundir felicidad con placer es un error de dimensiones incalculables e intrínsecamente ligado al consumismo.  Sin embargo, si me hubiera comprado un nuevo smartphone o hubiera acudido a cenar a un restaurante, con independencia del lujo del mismo, eso sí hubiera afectado en positivo al producto interior bruto.

¿Podemos valorar en dinero la felicidad directa que produjo aquel concierto de voluntarios entre las quinientas almas que se juntaron en aquella iglesia? ¿Podemos medir en dinero la felicidad que esas quinientas personas transmitieron durante días a sus seres queridos al sentirse ellos a su vez felices?

Es bueno medir el PIB pero lógicamente eso no quiere decir que debamos santificarlo como la medida por antonomasia de los objetivos que debe asumir una sociedad.  Los economistas necesitamos desesperadamente entender que la economía debe estar al servicio de la felicidad de las comunidades,  respetando las diferencias de valor en las aportaciones de sus miembros. Necesitamos defender que lo que está en juego es la felicidad de las gentes y no que tengamos más o menos cosas, muchas de ellas cosas que no necesitamos y que nunca llegamos a disfrutar.

Tal vez si hubiéramos sabido medir la felicidad, el termometro de felicidad de aquel maravilloso concierto, hecho por aficionados y por voluntarios, se hubiera disparado hasta niveles insospechados. Tal vez si supiéramos medir la felicidad y prestáramos importancia a esas medidas, las decisiones de los consumidores, de los individuos en general, de las empresas y de los gobiernos, serían distintas y habrían cosas que ocurren hoy que no pasarían nunca.

Tal vez, sólo tal vez, algún día eso será posible.

Mixing Politics and Religion is like mixing Banking and Values

While I'm not one for mixing politics with religion, I find it interesting to see the recent Encyclical from Pope Francis, Laudato si' on Care For Our Common Home. And I find the parallel of banking on values or as I like to call it, values-based banking, an interesting, inspiring and let's face it, ironic but related theme.  

Pope Francis has challenged the world to act on the greatest threats facing the human family today, as he puts climate change, growing global inequality and the destruction of biodiversity down to a world which has put profit and the drive for relentless growth above all other considerations.

I'd imagine that l, like most people who have heard about the Pope's message, agree that it's time for change. And it's true of the banking system too. Since the financial crisis, there has been a growing awareness of the need for a paradigm shift in the banking and financial industry. We know that we have the power to influence the environment by systemic and  personal shifts in behaviour; I argue that the same is true of our personal power to influence the word economy and the financial system; by choosing where we bank, and what we put our money into. Of course we need to change the operation of banking too but that's another blog!

I'm getting to see it day after day in my role as Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV). We're an independent network of banks and banking cooperatives with a shared mission to use finance to deliver positive economic, social  and environmental impact. Values-based banking is more then just corporate social responsibility, it's about re-framing banking so that it is put back in the hands of the people and back in service of the people, organisations and communities banks serve. 

It's not a new concept but it's growing in popularity. This month alone we announced three new members to the Alliance, First Bank of DC (USA), Ekobanken (Sweden), and Southern Bancorp (USA), which bring us to a group of 28 banks, representing 30,000 co-workers, and 20 million clients across countries in Asia, Africa, Australia, Latin America, North America and Europe, committed to turning the banking model on its head. We are actively partnering, collaborating, and strategising to find all of the ways banks and banking cooperatives can use their resources, people and capital to strengthen the 'human family" and the planet. 

Public Regulations or a Better Corporate Governance?

It is wellknown that capitalism can not be left on its own without some rules that might appease its darker face.

In the past decades and, in different industries, we have seen the effects of too a loose regulatory system that has played its role in the birth of bubbles and in the growing inequalities we are suffering. It is obvious that public regulations in general need to improve to avoid pathological evolution of some sensitive industries such as energy, telecommunication and finance.

But what we find now is not necessarily a better regulatory system but an increasing regulatory burden that does not always cope with the real underlying issues of the quality of Corporate governance.

An excessive and inadequate regulatory burden to avoid systemic risks in any industry, might become a risk in itself. That’s why regulations should be very much focused on guaranteeing a proper balance in Corporate Governance, the existence of countervailing bodies within the companies so that the actions of the executive teams can be adequately supervised and fostering that the profile of the persons in charge of both, the executive teams but also the supervisory bodies, have the right experience and the adequate personal values and moral convictions.

Luckily, lots of companies in many different sectors in the world, are already sticking to the best practices of building a solid governance model with constructive countervailing powers. These kind of companies are normally also very much aware of the need of hiring the best professionals and supervisors, not only in what respects to their knowledge and experience but also in what regards to their personal values and ethical behaviors.

These companies do not need so many regulations because the way they look at their economic role in society is already based on ethical values and they understand that there is no better regulation that the one that starts with their own governance model. Policy makers should consider those companies as role models and not as threats to the mainstream thinking.