One organization works to define Human Development (HD) and to quantify the HD of a country. The United Nations has developed a Human Development Index. You can access the Human Development Index at http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/ .
The index measures HD using a variety of different variables. First of all, though, it's important to note that the Human Development does not mean the evaluation of the rise and fall of a nation's income. Rather, the focus of the HD Index is on people. Countries considered to have high Human Development have an environment in which people can lead productive lives that coincide with their needs and interests. The environment gives citizens choice, so people can lead lives they value. That's why we often connect money with development. Money gives people opportunities, economic wealth expands choices.
The UN believes that HD and human rights work together. Generally speaking, people in MDCs have a sense of well-being and self-respect, have choices, lead valuable lives and maintain valuable relationships, and respect others. In a sense HD can demonstrate how a population feels as a whole. LDCs tend to struggle with issues of inequality and social injustice and with problems regarding human rights and freedom. These issues prevent countries from developing as quickly as others.
The HD Index concentrates on three main categories: health, education, and income. However, the summary picture looks at multiple factors, which include a nation's life expectancy, level of poverty, level of income, literacy, and education. Though this summary picture lacks many factors that contribute to a nation's development, those factors cannot be quantified. However, the summary picture stills gives a good estimation of a country's development, and is used to produce a number.
On the index the countries that consistently rank at the top include Norway, Austria, Iceland, Canada and at number thirteen, the United States. All with established democracies and varying degrees of personal freedom. Those that linger towards the bottom are almost all Sub-Saharan countries. This could be for a number of different reasons, or more likely as a result of multiple factors working together. One possibility is the impact of the AIDs epidemic which has dramatically decreased the life expectancy of many Sub-Saharan countries. (Notice Sub-Saharan Africa on AIDS map above!) The life expectancy is also related to the high infant mortality rate due to lack of adequate, affordable health care and the presence of many fatal diseases such as Malaria. Many aids victims lose jobs and are unable to provide for their families, which has greatly impacted the poverty of these nations. Also, many Sub-Saharan countries have yet to develop stable democracies which promote personal freedom and in turn the promotion of valuable lives which allow people to make personal choices. A third possible reason is that education is not as cheap and available in Sub-Saharan countries. Lack of education prevents citizens from earning higher incomes, making appropriate health and life choices, and in developing a stronger political system. The countries can become more developed by promoting cultural liberty and giving people tools to live lives they value. Of course, these barriers to HD will need to be worked out before the countries can accomplish this task. The HD Index points out that the growing gap between MDCs and LDCs is a large problem. Some speculate that the reason for this growing gap is globalization which adds efficiency to the world economy, yet simultaneously isolates the less developed countries as quickly as it connects with MDCs, helping them to thrive. Many political dynamics need to be worked out in order to lessen the gap between wealthier and poorer countries. Which, in turn, will contribute to lessening the gap between more and less developed countries.
Post a Comment