The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development.
- A long and healthy life,
- Being knowledgeable,
- Have a decent standard of living.
The HDI is the geometric mean of normalized indices for each of the three dimensions.
The common objective of all development is to secure a better life in terms of amenities, a better quality of life, and prospects for all people and citizens.
Development in its more progressive and in its more modern concept is about securing people the following three.
Development is securing the following
- Better Quality of Life and a Better Standard of Living
- Dignity of life and Self-Esteem
- Better and more Democratic Choices across all aspects of life (Economic, Social, and Political)
Development - Classical Economics
Conventionally in the initial stages, Human development was centered around Economic Growth alone with an assumption that economic growth on its own can translate into better Social and Political outcomes. This is Classical Economics Wisdom.
Development in 1970s - Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI)
In the 1970s under David Morris, the UN accepted development to be measured under (PQLI) Physical Quality of Life Index. This index ignored economic parameters and included achievements under Literacy, IMR, and Life Expectancy alone. This again is an incomplete measure because Income and Economy are important determinants of social sector achievements.
Development in 1990s - Human Development Index (HDI) (UNDP)
In the 1990s, the UNDP under the leadership of Mahbub-ul-Haq and Amartya Sen redefined the concept of human development as a development that enlarges choices. Development choices not only need to exist but should also be Accessible, Affordable. and there should be Real choices.
Development was measured under three parameters
- Income - Per capita GDP in PPP terms (II)
- Health - Life Expectancy at birth (HI)
- Education - Education index in terms of adult and child literacy rate (Enrolment ratio) (EI)
|Human Development Index (HDI)||Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI)|
|Un-Weighted Arithmetic mean|
(II + HI + EI) / 3
Different Weightages for different indices
In 2010 HDI, there have been modification in this indices.
2010 HDI modifications
- the income index is now measured in terms of per capita gross national income. Gionee is more comprehensive in terms of economic resources available for a country's development. It includes remittances and also exports.
- education index is now measured in terms of mean years of schooling of adult population and expected years of schooling for child population.
- health index continued to be life expectancy at birth and HDI is the geometric mean of the indices
Human development index = ∛(II + HI + EI)
The geometric mean exaggerates and amplifies the difference in achievements that are in the development lag.
Apart from HDI which primarily reflects the achievements of society, HDR-2010 also added three other induces to capture inequalities
- Multidimensional poverty index
- Inequality-adjusted Human development index
- Gender inequality index
Multidimensional poverty index (MDPI)
Conventional HDI is measured only in terms of income. There are other dimensions of poverty such as food security, affordable housing, portable drinking water, affordable power, etc. According to 2014 HDI, greater than 50% of India's population have moderate multidimensional poverty and about 30% have severe multidimensional poverty.
Inequality adjusted Human development index.
It accommodates the inequality based under achievements and readjusts the HDI so that the new index captures both the achievements and the inequalities
Gender inequality index.
It captures the gender gap concerning life expectancy disparity, labour force participation disparity, political participation disparity.
Patterns of global Human development index.
HDI captures the development parameters of different countries and it categorises HDI into five categories.
5 Categories of HDI.
- Very high HDI
- High HDI
- Medium HDI
- Low HDI
- Very low HDI.
Patterns of HDI are
India has consistently maintained its position in the Mid and medium HDI. In 2019 India's rank was 129 out of 189 countries. In 2018 India's rank was 130 out of 189 countries.
Very high HDI countries are Scandinavia, middle east, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE. The disproportionately high-income parameters more than compensate for the lower achievements in the social sector.
Very high HDI also includes Japan, Singapore, Chile, Argentina, Erstwhile USSR Estonia, Lithuania.
Almost all countries of the world I have consistently improved their HDI and this also is true for the sub-Saharan countries.
There is a large gap between and low HDI countries. Example on the income front, achievement off HDI countries is at least 20 times more than the low HDI countries.
There is a clear North-South divide in the development achievements. The north-south divide is based on Brandt line. The north comprises of more developed countries of America and Europe including Australia. The southern countries include Latin America, Africa, and Central and South Asia
Even among high and very high HDI countries, there is inequality within. There are social differences within a community inside the United States and the southern United States are lagging behind the more developed North-Eastern states. In Canada, the colder north and the agricultural regions of the west have lesser HDI compared to those on east like Quebec and the industrial regions along the Saint Lawrence River.
High HDI countries include Mexico, Panama, Libya, Uruguay, Algeria, Tunisia, Brazil, Ukraine, Bosnia, Iran, Lebanon. But these countries are no match to countries like Norway Sweden Denmark and other oecd countries.
Russia is one countries in high hdi that has suffered losses since 1990 due to its economic and social restructuring.
The intra country variation and ethnic disparities are the common aspect of almost all countries.
United States is among the top five HDI. But the HDI of Afro-Americans is 0.47 while the average HDI of the country is consistently greater than 0.9. The same is also for Brazil where average is greater than 0.7 but HDI for less developed state like amazonia, Pernambuco is 0.5.
Asia as a continent has the widest range of HDI. Countries like Israel and Singapore has greater than 0.9 HDI where as countries like Laos, Cambodia, East Timor, and Afghanistan have very low and low HDI.
Most of the very low HDI are African countries including the sub-Saharan Africa. Droughts and conflicts have aggravated historical poverty in Africa.
Previous years questions
- 2009: Provide a broad classification of world cultural regions.
- 2010: Critically examine the method of deriving the Human Development Index.
- 2013: Explain the parameters for the assessment and the spatial pattern of Human Development Indexing the world.
- 2019: HDI has brought a paradigm shift in the way people think about the development process. Critically examine the inherent limitations of HDI.