ICSB unveils Gross Domestic Humanity in Seoul

The International Council for Small Business introduced Gross Domestic Humanity at South Korea’s National Assembly on Oct. 15, 2026, pitching it as a new way to measure national progress alongside GDP. The framework ties entrepreneurship to human flourishing and uses South Korea as a test case for policy debate.

Why it matters: - Gross Domestic Humanity, or GDH, aims to measure whether economic progress is improving people’s lives, not just output. - The framework could give policymakers a new lens for judging entrepreneurship, employment, education and well-being. - South Korea is the case study, and the country’s gap between entrepreneurial strength and human flourishing makes the question especially relevant.

What happened: - The International Council for Small Business introduced GDH at South Korea’s National Assembly on Oct. 15, 2026. - The announcement came during an international policy forum co-hosted by National Assembly Member Baek Sun-hee, ICSB and Policy Space for Inclusion and Innovation. - The framework was developed by Dr. Ayman ElTarabishy, president and CEO of ICSB and a teaching professor at George Washington University School of Business, with Professor Ki-Chan Kim, chair of ICSB. - The forum centered on Korea’s role in shaping the new measure and the policy questions it raises.

The details: - GDH builds on the 2026 ICSB Human-Centered Entrepreneurship Index, which studies entrepreneurial activity and human flourishing across 43 economies. - The Index found South Korea ranked second in entrepreneurial activity and first in risk-taking, but 26th in human flourishing. - The gap between South Korea’s entrepreneurship and flourishing rankings was the largest among the economies studied. - GDH is designed as a complement to GDP, linking economic activity to people’s well-being. - ElTarabishy said: “GDP asks how much a country makes. GDH asks how much a country helps its people flourish.” - Kim presented the GDH Korea Country Report 2026 and a policy paper titled “From More Jobs to Jobs Where People Flourish: Beyond GDP to GDH.” - The report looks at how Korea can turn entrepreneurial success into better opportunities for younger generations through meaningful work, education and participation in economic life. - Kim said: “If GDP measures a country's economic production and growth, GDH adds the lens of human flourishing to economic growth.” - Kim also said: “Entrepreneurship is the means; human flourishing is the purpose.” - ElTarabishy and Kim have worked together for more than a decade on human-centered entrepreneurship research.

Between the lines: - The GDH push reflects a broader argument that strong economic performance can still leave people behind if well-being is weak. - Korea’s experience gives the proposal practical force because the country scores highly on entrepreneurship but far lower on flourishing. - Representative Baek said the purpose of economic growth is to help more people realize their potential, with young people at the center of that question. - Baek outlined plans for a National Assembly research group focused on youth employment, housing and the social safety net. - Park Neung-hoo, head of Policy Space for Inclusion and Innovation, pointed to Korea’s rapid industrialization and democratization while noting the pressures young people face around jobs and housing. - The forum also presented a proposed New Deal for Korea built around Hope, Harmony and Human Flourishing. - Ambassador Martín García Moritán proposed Senior and Intergenerational Human-Centered Entrepreneurship as part of the broader GDH agenda. - Forum participants broadly supported the intergenerational research direction, which looks at how younger and older generations can learn from one another through entrepreneurship.

What’s next: - ICSB plans to publish the index annually. - The organization plans to use GDH in future international research and policy discussions on entrepreneurship, economic development, employment, education and human well-being. - The findings are comparisons across 43 economies and do not establish causation, leaving room for further research. - ICSB says the Seoul presentation is part of a wider effort to connect academic research with policymaking while leaving policy decisions to the proper institutions.

The bottom line: - GDH is an attempt to move the debate beyond GDP and ask a sharper question: whether growth is translating into human flourishing.