...The UNDP Human Development Report (HDR) for 2011 focuses on the intertwined issues of sustainability and equity. While most countries have achieved substantial development gains since 1970, the 2011 HDR draws attention to evidence that raises questions about the sustainability and distribution of these benefits. Human Development Index: Encouraging Progress Most countries have made great strides in living standards over the past 30 to 40 years. The UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI) increased, on average, by 41 percent overall and 60 percent in low HDI countries since 1970. The HDI country ranking is divided into four quartiles. The first quartile, or top 47 countries with the highest HDIs, is labeled “very high human development.” The remaining three quartiles of country groupings are “high human development” countries, “medium human development” countries and “low human development” countries. From 1980 to 2011, average HDI scores increased by 16.1 percent, 20.7 percent, 50.0 percent and 44.3 percent for very high, high, medium and low human development countries, respectively. The table below presents HDI data from the 2011 HDR for a select group of countries from each development category. Green Revolution The Green Revolution in agricultural productivity is one of a number of important factors behind the dramatic rise in living standards. With only a 10 percent increase in cultivated land, agricultural output doubled over the past 50 years. In Asia, the Green...
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...The Human Development Index and the Inequality Human Development Index Human development is defined as the process of enlarging people’s freedoms and opportunities and improving their well-being. Human development is about the real freedom ordinary people have to decide who to be, what to do, and how to live. The human development concept was developed by economist Mahbub ul Haq. At the World Bank in the 1970s, and later as minister of finance in his own country, Pakistan, Dr. Haq argued that existing measures of human progress failed to account for the true purpose of development—to improve people’s lives. In particular, he believed that the commonly used measure of Gross Domestic Product failed to adequately measure well-being. Working with Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen and other gifted economists, in 1990 Dr. Haq published the first Human Development Report, which was commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme. The Human Development Index was developed as an alternative to simple money metrics. It is easy-to-understand numerical measures made up of what most people believe are the very basic ingredients of human well-being: health, education, and income. The first Human Development Index was presented in 1990. It has been an annual feature of every Human Development Report since, ranking virtually every country in the world from number one currently Norway, to number 186 Niger. Like all averages, it conceals disparities in human development across the population...
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...1. The Human Development Index is a tool developed by the United Nations to measure and rank countries' levels of social and economic development measured on four things: Life expectancy at birth, mean years of schooling, expected years of schooling and gross national income per capita. The HDI makes it possible to track changes in development levels over time and to compare development levels in different countries. By measuring life expectancy, education, literacy and gross domestic product per capita yearly, you can how individual countries have developed overtime. 2A) What freedoms you enjoy most in your day to day life: The freedomsI enjoy most in my life are the simple things that usually go by unnoticed; the freedom of speech is a significant one in my life as a lot of my time is spent on the internet writing opinions of what I think and being able to read opinions of others. I do not have to worry about what I say (in comparison to some Third World countries where there is a restriction on freedom of speech) as I have the freedom to speak the truth whenever I want. B) Areas in my life that I experience 'unfreedom' is mostly a result of my age and the fact that I am a poor student. This is restricting, as my age (19) is still classified as a teen and I am still not as 'mature' as I will be when I am in my early 20's. This makes it harder to get a job as I haven't got a degree and the fact that I am too young and inexperienced. Also, being a student restricts me...
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...such as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the Gross National Product (GNP) are used to gauge the growth of an economy. Economic development is all about increasing the wealth in a nation as a whole. Economic development is the promotion of more intensive and more advanced economic activities through such means as education, improved tools and techniques, more available financing, better transportation, and creation of new businesses, (Microsoft Student, 2009a). Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the total value of goods and services produced in a country over a year. It is an estimate of market throughput, adding together the value of all final goods and services that are produced and traded for money within a given period of time. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is calculated by adding up the value of all goods and services that are produced, by adding up the expenditure on goods and services at the time of sale and lastly by adding up the producer incomes from the sale of goods or services. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures a country’s economic activities regardless of who owns the productive assets in that country, (Costanza etal, 2009:5). One key difference between the two concepts therefore is the value of production by multinational companies which is sent home from abroad. Another difference between the two measures of economic development is that GDP is a better measure of the state of production in the short term whilst GNP is a better measure when analyzing sources...
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...Growth and Development 2 3. Human Development Index 3 3.1 Historical Background of Human Development Measurement 4 3.2 Definition of Human Development and HDI 5 3.3 HDI Calculation 6 3.4 HDI Interpretation and Application 7 3.5 Limitations 8 3.6 Criticism 9 4. Conclusion 10 Appendix-I (Acronyms and abbreviations) 10 References 11 1. Introduction Over the last two decades economic growth has got a lot more attention among policymakers, corporate, economists, and academics in India and across the world. Since 1991, when India implemented liberalization, privatization, and globalization policies, GDP growth rate has become a buzz word. It has got disproportionate amount of attention from policymakers and economists. It has been used excessively to measure the success or failure of any policy. But after two decades it has become clearly visible that GDP growth rate alone cannot measure the development of a nation. The difference between growth and development too has become clearer. In spite of fast paced economic growth for last 10-20 years, a large part of our population remains illiterate. A large part of our population does not have the access to safe drinking water and proper medical care. Highest number of malnourished children belongs to our nation. These are some of the bitter realities which GDP growth based measurement never reflects. All these facts suggest the need of a more holistic approach to measure the development and growth...
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...Human Development Index 1 Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistic of life expectancy, education, and income indices used to rank countries into four tiers of human development. It was created by the Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq and the Indian economist Amartya Sen in 1990[1] and was published by the United Nations Development Programme.[2] World map by quartiles of Human Development Index in 2013. Origins The origins of the HDI are found in the annual Development Reports of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). These were devised and launched by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq in 1990 and had the explicit purpose "to shift the focus of development economics from national income accounting to people-centered policies". To produce the Human Development Reports, Mahbub ul Haq brought together a group of well-known development economists including: Paul Streeten, Frances Stewart, Gustav Ranis, Keith Griffin, Sudhir Anand and Meghnad Desai. Working along with Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, they worked on capabilities and functionings that provided the underlying conceptual framework. Haq was sure that a simple composite measure of human development was needed in order to convince the public, academics, and policy-makers that they can and should evaluate development not only by economic advances but also improvements in human well-being. Sen initially opposed this idea, but he went on to help Haq develop the Index...
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...and UNDP Human Development Reports Introduction The source of the human development approach is from the theory of Sen which says that development comes about only when capabilities expand. The idea generated from the theory is that the core reason for development is to ensure that human lives are improved. This can only be achieved if there is expansion in what they can be or do. It could include things such as the being well nourished and healthy, participating in the activities of the community and being knowledgeable. Hence, development can only occur once the obstacles that were present preventing an individual from doing something are removed. The obstacles might be in the form of ill health, illiteracy, lack of resources or lack of freedom- both political and civil. When these obstacles are removed one is said to be capable; hence the origin of the concept of capability Sen, 160). Purpose Statement The purpose of this paper is to analyze the concept of capabilities approach that was developed by Amartya Sen, a Nobel Prize winner, and M. Nussban. Amartya has enabled the measurement of human development by the United Development Program (UNDP). He helped invent the capabilities approach, which is the foundation of indices used by UNDP in their measurements. Through these indices the achievement in education and health can be measured in addition to income (Nussbaum, 67). Objectives The main aim of this paper is to establish whether the Human Development Reports (HDRs)...
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...Human Development Report 2013 The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World Explanatory note on 2013 HDR composite indices Viet Nam HDI values and rank changes in the 2013 Human Development Report Introduction The 2013 Human Development Report presents Human Development Index (HDI) values and ranks for 187 countries and UN-recognized territories, along with the Inequality-adjusted HDI for 132 countries, the Gender Inequality Index for 148 countries, and the Multidimensional Poverty Index for 104 countries. Country rankings and values in the annual Human Development Index (HDI) are kept under strict embargo until the global launch and worldwide electronic release of the Human Development Report. It is misleading to compare values and rankings with those of previously published reports, because the underlying data and methods have changed. Readers are advised in the Report to assess progress in HDI values by referring to table 2 (‘Human Development Index Trends’) in the Statistical Annex of the report. Table 2 is based on consistent indicators, methodology and time-series data and thus shows real changes in values and ranks over time reflecting the actual progress countries have made. Caution is requested when interpreting small changes in values because they may not be statistically significant due to the sampling variation. Generally speaking, changes in third decimal of all composite indices are considered insignificant. For further details on how each...
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...industrial advancement. Peru is one of the nations which distinctly depicts the effects from globalisation. Peru was initially a third world nation suffering from scarcity and dictatorship, it is now progressing into a developed country. Globalisation has positively affected Peru by raising the Human Development Index, empowering females, and creating a more powerful nation. (Leon 2002) One of the advantages of globalisation which has a civil development is the increase in Human Development Index. It is an assessment and comparison of civil, governmental and industrial growth between all the nations in the world. With a scale of zero to one, the Human Development Index rates each nation, with the most developed, globalised nation scoring one. The capital gross domestic production, life expectancy during birth, literacy of adults, and the amount of people admitted into educational institutions are the aspects involved in concluding the Human Development Index of each nation. Peru had a startling Human Development Index of 0.643 in 1975. However, the Human Development Index of the nation surged up to 0.762 which was more than a tenth rise. This considerable hike in the Human Development Index of Peru was an evident sign of the benefits from globalisation. In the...
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...developing countries, spreads technological knowledge, and increases political liberation. (Harris 5-23) The main cause of globalization is influence from other, more developed, countries. Globalization is a historical process that results from human innovation and technological progress. The social effects of globalization are clearly illustrated in Peru. Once a third-world country filled with poverty and oppression, Peru is now transitioning into a developed nation. In Peru, globalization has raised the human development index, empowered women, and created a stronger country. (Leon 90-91) One of the benefits of globalization on a social level is an increased Human Development Index. The Human Development Index is a measurement of a country's social, political, and economical growth in comparison to other countries in the world. The Human Development Index rates each country with a score between 0 and 1, with 1 being the most advanced, globalized country. Factors that are involved in determining a country's HDI are gross domestic production per capita, life expectancy at birth, adult literary, and the number of persons enrolled in educational institutions. In 1975, Peru's Human Development Index was a 0.643. By 2003, the Human Development Index had risen more than one tenth to 0.762. The substantial increase of Peru's HDI is a clear indication that globalization has made a positive impact. From 1975 until 2003, globalization has caused a 2% increase in the adult literacy rate. During...
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...ESSAY Difference people do difference things but have the same goal. That is to improve standard of living or human well-being for instead. So we need an index to indicate what we have achieved, what is the limitation that needs to be adjusted to orient the growth trend that makes the life better in the future. To meet up with this expectation, Gross Domestic Product (GDP for short) has been used as a method of evaluating the human well-being for a long time all over the world. But with the introduction of Human Development Report in 1990, the Human Development Index (HDI) has attracted great attention of policy and academic circles, as well as broader community around the world. This appearance also helps raising the question: Is GDP still an adequate measure of societal well-being and should it be replaced by HDI? This question has attracted a lot of people and cause a controversy among them. So let’s have a look at that matter of argument. As you know the standard well-being varies from time to time, from place to place so we should at first understand: What is well-being? In general, well-being is the pursuit and fulfillment of personal aspirations and the development and exercise of human capabilities, within a context of mutual recognition, equality and interdependence. To make it more detailed here are some key criteria that we should include to valuate well-being: Material living standards (income, consumption and wealth); Health; Education; Personal activities including...
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...mainly by the services and manufacturing sectors (Malaysia Factbook 2014). 2.0 Malaysia Economic Growth Rate Table of Malaysia GDP Growth (Annual %) from year 2003-2012 Year | GDP Growth (Annual %) | 2003 | 6 | 2004 | 7 | 2005 | 5 | 2006 | 6 | 2007 | 6 | 2008 | 5 | 2009 | -2 | 2010 | 7 | 2011 | 5 | 2012 | 6 | Sources: The World Bank Group 2014a Line chart of Malaysia GDP Growth (Annual %) from year 2003-2012 Sources: The World Bank Group 2014a The x-axis of the line chart above represents years from 2003 to 2012 while y-axis represents Malaysia’s GDP Annual Growth Rate. GDP Growth (Annual %) can be defined as annual percentage growth rate of GDP at market prices based on constant local currency (Index Mundi 2014a). According to the line chart, GDP Annual Growth Rate in Malaysia is at average of 5.1 percent from year 2003 to year 2012 and it was growing above 5 percent with the exception of year 2009. The Annual Growth Rate hit record lows of -2 percent in year 2009 and reached an all time high of 7 percent in year 2004 and 2010 (The World Bank Group 2014a). One of the reasons that contribute to the growth of GDP in year 2004 is the growth of private investment, implying...
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...HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX Human Development Index (HDI): Explained According to the United Nation Human Development Report of 2006, “Human Development I Index is a summary measure of human development in any country”. It measures the average achievements in a country in three basic dimensions of human development namely: i. Healthy Living Condition ii. Education and iii. Standard of Living * A long and healthy life is measured in nation by the life expectancy at birth. * Knowledge, as measured by the adult literacy rate (with two-thirds weight) and the combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrolment ratio (with one-third weight). * A decent standard of living measured by GDP per capita. Wikipedia.org also described HDI thus “the Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistic used to rank countries by level of "human development" and separate "very high development", "high human development", "medium human development", and "low human development" countries. The statistic is composed from data on life expectancy, education and per-capita GNI (as an indicator of standard of living or income) collected at the national level”. In summary, Human Development Index is the United Nation measure of well-being in countries of the world. Calculating the Human Development...
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...sustainable development. Social, economic and environmental well-being are indivisible. Together they define gross global happiness,” said the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in the high-level meeting – “Happiness and Well-being: Defining a New Economic Paradigm” at UN Headquarters in New York on the 2sd, April, 2012. These words remind us of the fact that not just economic well-being but social well-being (as much as enviromental well-being) is also an essential factor in rating a nation’s happiness, as well as that of a man. Therefore, the important thing to do now is to find a way to measure social well–being, and should that be Gross Domestic Product (as some country has done)? However, in actual fact, there are people who believe that GDP is inadequate and it should be replaced by the Human Development Index (HDI). We find this opinion very convincing. The United States Institue of Peace (USIP) defined “social well-being” as “an end state in which basic human needs are met and people are able to coexist peacefully in communities with opportunities for advancement.” But what is an “end state”? And we can base on which factors to evaluate it? To answer these questions, the USIP also pointed out the 4 neccesery conditions to achive this “end state”, which were: Access To and Delivery of Basic Needs Services, Access To and Delivery of Education, Return and Resettlement of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, and finally Social Reconstruction. Therefore, whichever index we use...
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...in wealthy, industrially-developed nations primarily located in the Western Hemisphere have become concerned with the notion of "development," or lack thereof, in the relatively poor, industrially-undeveloped nations primarily located in Africa, Central and South America and various regions throughout Asia. Unfortunately for those concerned with effecting some change, no one is quite sure what it is exactly that separates a "developed" country from an "undeveloped" country. Partly due to the inability to properly define "development," those concerned with the affairs and quality of life of people in far, distant lands have also encountered difficulties in proposing a solution that engenders some kind of successful outcome to the problem at hand. Is a country with a high Gross Domestic Product (GDP) a "developed" country? Or is development about relatively high levels of Gross National Product (GNP)? Maybe a more proper comparison to make amongst countries of varied economic development is Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). Perhaps development is not primarily a question of the static level of income a person within the country receives in a given year, but is more related to the annual rate of growth of a person's income, or of the economy as a whole. But there are still other considerations to take into account when examining the economic development of a country, such as the quality and quantity of health care (and health), education and political and religious freedoms. Several...
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