8A.1a Why is concept of development complex and contested

what is human development

development means change for the better where progress is sustained over the long term, its should be sustainable (soc,eco,env,pol)

why is the human development definition different for all

there are different views of better in different countries

environmental ways of how to measure development

air quality, noise pollution

social ways of how to measure development

birth and death rate, doctors per 1000, life expectancy, infant mortality

economic ways of how to measure development

unemployment rates, house prices, average household income, GDP

political ways of how to measure development

voting participation, democracy

what are single measures

measure of development that only have one factor

what is gini coeffieient

assess the degree of inequality within any country, 0=equality 1=inequality

what is GDP

gross domestic product, value of all goods and services produced by a country in a year

what is HDI

human development index, life expectancy education and GDP per capita

what is HPI

happy planet index, measure of sustainable well being showing extent to which countries deliver long sustainable lives, life expectancy experienced wellbeing and ecological footprint

what is HCI

human capital index, measure 0-1 with whether a child born today can expect to achieve full health and education 

advantages of gini coeffiicient

shows clear distribution of wealth and level of equality

advantages of GDP

converted to US$ so comparison between countries is easy to see

advantages of HDI

composite measure, uses more than 1 indicator and covers social and economic, simplifies measure of progress

advantages of HPI

uses more than 1 indicator and measure social and environmental factors

advantages of HCI

shows how economically productive the country will be in the future

disadvantages of gini coefficient

exceptions to the rule with some HICs not scoring well on the index

disadvantages of GDP

only measures official economy, doesnt include informal economy of distribution of wealth, a single measure

disadvantages of HDI

complex as it requires economic and social data, doesnt take into account env quality, democracy, security and freedom

disadvantages of HPI

scores of many HICs were reduced by their large ecological footprints, subjective wellbeing

disadvantages of HCI

difficult to allocate funding to 2 areas that drive human capital development (health and education), complexities of factors may be ignored e.g. those who are unable to work