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Defining and measuring development
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Development means improving people's lives. But how do you measure something so big?
Definitions
Economic development: growth in wealth, often measured by income.
Human development: improvements in health, education, freedom and quality of life.
Development is helped by economic factors (jobs, trade), social (healthcare, education), technological (internet, machinery), cultural (attitudes to education and women) and food and water security.
Human development: improvements in health, education, freedom and quality of life.
Development is helped by economic factors (jobs, trade), social (healthcare, education), technological (internet, machinery), cultural (attitudes to education and women) and food and water security.
Single measures
GDP per capita: the total value of goods and services produced in a year divided by the population.
Life expectancy, literacy rate, infant mortality and birth rate are social measures.
Inequality measures such as the Gini coefficient (0 = everyone equal) show how evenly wealth is shared.
Corruption indices such as the Corruption Perceptions Index show how honest public institutions are seen to be.
Life expectancy, literacy rate, infant mortality and birth rate are social measures.
Inequality measures such as the Gini coefficient (0 = everyone equal) show how evenly wealth is shared.
Corruption indices such as the Corruption Perceptions Index show how honest public institutions are seen to be.
The Human Development Index
The HDI combines health (life expectancy), education (years of schooling) and income (GNI per person).
It runs from 0 to 1; the closer to 1, the more developed.
A composite measure gives a better picture than one figure, but averages still hide inequality within a country.
It runs from 0 to 1; the closer to 1, the more developed.
A composite measure gives a better picture than one figure, but averages still hide inequality within a country.
Explain why the HDI is a better measure of development than GDP per capita alone.
- GDP per capita only measures average wealth.
- The HDI also includes health and education.
- So it shows more about people's quality of life.
Answer: It combines income with health and education.
Development has economic and human sides. Measures include GDP per capita, life expectancy, literacy, infant mortality, the Gini coefficient and corruption indices. The HDI combines health, education and income on a 0 to 1 scale.
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