I think prosperity (particularly if we include health, education, wellbeing etc) is unfortunately very difficult to measure and any attempt necessarily incorporates a lot of speculation and ideology.
A forest cleared creates wealth & prosperity, but what was the value of the forest that was lost? What value do we put on natural amenity, biodiversity, a pristine environment?
An employee works very long hours, numbers go up. Great. In specific situations though we can ask: was any wealth actually created, or was the wellbeing of the employee and their children simply exchanged for dollars?
A forest cleared creates wealth & prosperity, but what was the value of the forest that was lost? What value do we put on natural amenity, biodiversity, a pristine environment?
An employee works very long hours, numbers go up. Great. In specific situations though we can ask: was any wealth actually created, or was the wellbeing of the employee and their children simply exchanged for dollars?
etc. It's value judgements all the way down.