APHUG Unit 7

Human Development Index (HDI)

• How the UN measures a country’s level of development

• Measures standard of living, life expectancy, and access to knowledge

• Countries grouped into Very High Developing (0.79+), High Developing (0.7-0.79), Medium Developing (0.52-0.69), or Low Developing (-0.51)

Gross National Income (GNI)

The total value of all goods and services produced within a country, including money that leaves and enters, in a time period (usually one year)

• GOODS + SERVICES + (EXPORTS - IMPORTS)

• Most economists argue is better to measure economic value than GDP

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

The total value of all goods and services produced within a country in a time period (usually one year)

• GOODS + SERVICES

Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)

Adjustment made to GNI in order to account for differences in cost of goods between countries

• Ex. A and B have same income; if A has to pay more for their goods, B is technically better off

Per Capita GDP

Measures mean/average wealth, not its distribution among citizens

Per Capita GNI

Average income per person

Economic Job Sectors: Primary

Jobs directly extracting materials from the earth

• Ex. Agriculture, fishing, mining, forestry

Economic Job Sectors: Secondary

Jobs processing raw materials into products

• Ex. Manufacturing, textiles, construction

Economic Job Sectors: Tertiary

Jobs selling goods and services to people (AKA service sector)

• Ex. Banking, retail, government, education, law

• Accounts for greatest share of GNI in MDCs

Productivity

Value of a product compared to labor needed to make it

• Measured by per capita value added (gross value of product minus raw materials and energy)

  • Ex. Wood itself is worth less than a fully manufactured closet

• MDCs are more productive because they have access to machines, tools, etc.

Consumer Goods

Portion of wealth in MDCs can be used to purchase various goods and services

• Ex. Motor vehicles, telephones, computers

• Uncommon in LDCs due to lesser importance

Inequality-adjusted HDI (IHDI)

Modifies HDI to account for inequality

• Should equal HDI if country has perfect equality

  • Greater difference = greater inequality

• Sub-saharan Africa and South Asia have lowest scores

HDI: Long and Healthy Life

Life expectancy at birth

• Averages 80 yrs in MDCs and 68 in LDCs

• Young>old in LDCs, young = old in MDCs

• Better health technology and welfare resources account for large gap

HDI: Access to knowledge

Years of schooling - quantity

• People in MDCs expected to finish college, those in LDCs expected not to finish high school

• Large gap btwn expected and average years of schooling

Years of schooling - quality

• Student/teacher ratio

• Literacy rate

  • 99+ in MDCs, 70-90% in LDCs

Economic Variation Within Regions

Petroleum in Southwest Asia/North Africa and Central Asia

• Gap in per capita income from petroleum sale

Economic Variation Within Countries

Large differences in GDP per capita in states within Brazil, China, and Mexico

Newly Industrialized Countries

Countries that have made a distinct shift away from agriculture and toward manufacturing for economic development

• Have rapid population growth and rural-to-urban migration

• Ex. Brazil, China, South Africa

The Gini Coefficient

Measures the level of income disparity (gap) between a country’s richest and poorest populations

• Higher number = wider gap; suggests issues with poverty and distribution of wealth

Gender Inequality Index (GII)

Measures a country’s gender inequality based on empowerment, labor force, and reproductive health

• 0 = equality, 1 = inequality

• Highest in LDCs, especially Sub-saharan Africa and Asia

GII: Empowerment

Ability for women to improve status and gain economic/political power

• % of women in national legislature

• % of women who have completed high school

GII: Labor Force

Female labor force participation rate: % of women holding full-time jobs outside of the home

• Highest ratio in Sub-Saharan Africa (77 women per 100 men)

• Otherwise highest in MDCs

GII: Reproductive Health

Maternal mortality ratio: number of women who die during childbirth per 100,000 births

Adolescence fertility rate: number of births per 1,000 women aged 15-19

GII Trends

Declining since 1990s in nearly every country

• Only increase (backtrack) seen in US dt less reproductive rights and women in congress