Human Development Index and the Gross Domestic Product

Human phylogeny great power and the rude Domestic ProductComp be and Contrast 2 Indices Used To dance step victimization. Which Of The Two Do You Find Most Convincing And Why? You moldiness Support Your Answer With References To Examples.This essay shall compare the Human Development great power and the unrefined Domestic Product. The fundamental reason for this choice is that they are the just about comm merely utilise meters in the literature of festering today (Kubiszewski et al, 2013). These cardinal indices in like manner highlighting the fact that criterion growth is a interwoven subject as growing itself is a multidimensional ideal (Kothari Minogue, 2001). The devil indices bring to fore the question of who exactly is doing the t peerlessment and for what purposes. As tools they build up the complexness that is part of measuring outgrowth easier to understand (Greig, Hulme Turner, 2007) and they also highlight the power dynamics inherent in the spher e of emergence (Kothari Minogue, 2001). ledger entryDevelopment is intrinsically linked to distress and as such the policies and programmes created to draw rein poverty are a huge part of the development suffer (Greig, Hulme Turner, 2007 Allen Thomas, 2000). Measuring the take aims of poverty and world development is on that pointfore a requirement of creating effective policies and programs to tackle developmental challenges (Stiglitz, et al, 2009). There are various indices utilize to measure development for example the ISEW-Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare, GPI-Genuine Progress Indicator, Gross National Happiness just to mention a few. The variety of measurement indices draw attention to the divergent run acrosss surrounding what is considered important the when it arrives to measuring development.The complexity of measuring and defining development for example is seen in the challenging of assumptions that view development as a strictly linear economic overt ure of a country (Haynes, 2008). However the question wherefore arises whether there is a clearly defined spectrum of developed countries at virtuoso end and develop countries at a nonher (Haynes, 2008). What about the economic and development heterogeneity inwardly the growing countries? (Ibid). One can hardly conclude that all developing countries are following a trajectory from underdeveloped to developed as one has to take into consideration the countries who are part of what Collier (2008) calls the tramp Billion. These countries according to Collier (2008) are caught up in the poverty traps that prevent or frustrate development. According to Collier the four master(prenominal) poverty traps affecting the bottom billon are fighting, the natural resource curse, inland countries surrounded by bad neighbours who father vile infrastructure and in the end bad governance (Collier, 2008, p 5).For example one cannot presume that Uganda which is a landlocked country that has substantial natural resources that include sizeable mineral deposits of copper and cobalt, fertile land and regular rainfall would follow Switzerlands trajectory. Landlocked Switzerland trades through highly developed and stable Germany and Italy whereas Uganda shares borders with South Sudan, Rwanda and Kenya. Two of Ugandas neighbours that is South Sudan and Rwanda that name witnessed drawn out and intense conflict that spilled over into Uganda at one point or another and Kenya whose poor infrastructure, high cost of transporting closes through regional boarders as well as corruption at the coastal ports frustrates Ugandas progress at nettleing the spheric markets (Yusuf, 2013 Ruhanga Mayindo, 2010).The term development is therefore multifaceted and many depending on their suppositious perspective, view the term differently (Allen Thomas, 2000). Its theoretical as well as practical historical progression has been riddled with inconsistencies (Haynes, 2008). For example eve n though data shows that development has occurred in term of absolute egress there is the unparalleled widening gap between the rich and the poor countries as pointed out by Sachs (2005) (cited in Greig, Hulme Turner, 2007 p.5). The disparities between the mountain within countries has also widened increasing the levels of inequality globally (Kothar Minogue, 2001). Amartya Sen defines development as the expansion of the capabilities of people to lead the kind of lives they value and get under ones skin reason to value (Sen, 1999, p.18). This expands the concept of development to include the wellbeing of the cabaret.In this essay the term development ordain be taken to mean the continuous overture in the sphere of ones personal life, socio-economic relationships, culture and general wellbeing. (Allen Thomas, 2000). Development according to this definition is therefore a process. A process that ideally adopts to the context whilst primary(prenominal)taining its accent on improving the overall wellbeing of a smart set.Comparison of the HDI and the gross domestic productThe HDIThe Human Development Index (HDI) that was introduced by the linked Nations Development Program (UNDP) in 1990 has become the main alternative to the economically focused Gross Domestic Product (gross domestic product) which has been used as the main measure of development worldwide (Sagar Najam, 1998). As an alternative form of measurement, it reflected the rising approaches to development incorporating Economist Amartya Sens capabilities approach (Bilabao-Ubillos, 2011). The HDI has three main dimensions. These are health, education and Income. The variables included in these dimensions are life expectancy, child mortality, naturalise enrolment, literacy and Income per capita. By including these dimensions the HDI highlighted the multidimensionality of human development as well as puts much focus on the individual as opposed to economic growth in assets and income (Grei g, Hulme Turner, 2007).The ease of access to these dimensions within a country increases individuals functions and abilities that in turn positively contribute to the general wellbeing of society. For example access to health care improves life expectancy as well as individual agency by increasing their economic output if opportunities to do so are for sale (Bilabao-Ubillos, 2011).The HDI apart from pointing out that the real wealth of a society are its people also renewed the repugn on the measurement of development (Sagar Najam, 1998). It brought together various theoretical concepts of development into a unified theme making it easier for countries and governments to focus their policies on improvement (Greig, Hulme Turner, 2007). This measurement also brought to fore the importance of people participation as well as gender issues in development (Sagar Najam, 1998). With the introduction of the HDI, it has then been easier to incorporate broad and important notions of sust ainability into development measures (Ibid).However despite these positives the HDI has come under three main criticisms as pointed out by (Bilbao-Ubillos, 2011, p. 403). These are criticisms of the conceptual definitions of development, of the specific equations that generate the HDI and of the data quality used in its calculations. As the various criticisms are wide ranging, this essay will only focus on a few.To begin with the HDI fails to take into account the level of inequality and income inequity within a country. Distributional inequalities which may be caused by discrimination are significant for wellbeing and human development but are not captured within this measurement and therefore do not reflect the degree of economic and social cohesion within a country (Bilbao-Ubillos, 2011,). Another criticism is that the HDI fails to reflect the issues in countries where economic growth does not translate into human development. In other lecture there is no mechanism to measure go vernments public sector policies that focus on the idea of human development. For example in 2004 Angola allocated 1.5% of its GDP to health and 2.6% to education whereas Malawi allocated 9.6% and 5.5% respectively (Ibid).Sagar Najam, (1998) point out that there is a throw flaw in the HDI as trade-offs between various dimensions are masked. The rule of folding the three indices into a single one counters the notion that they have equal weight and therefore a deficiency in one dimension can be made up in the increment of another. Logically good performance based on the HDI should require good performance in all dimensions simultaneously. Another flaw in the HDI is that it does not reflect the reality on the ground. For example according to the Human Development delineate in 1997, Switzerland HDI was 0.99 while Mexico was 0.96 on the standard of living king yet the GNP of Switzerland was at $37930 and Mexico $4180. take down if one features in the terms of purchasing power pari ty these two countries do not have a similar standard of living which was the claim of UNDP report (Ibid). in conclusion but not least the HDI does not capture the environmental dimensions of development which are very important in the concept of wellbeing (Bilbao-Ubillos, 2011)The GDP.The GDP is the market value of all final goods and services produced within a given geographical entity within a given period of succession (Schepelmann et al, 2010, p 14). The GDP is the convergence of the demand, production and income of a countrys economy (Ibid). Gross domestic product (GDP) is the most widely used measure of economic activity.Much thought has gone into its statistical and conceptual bases thus making it a user friendly tool that utilises available data to measure market production (Schepelmann et al, 2010, p 14). Over cartridge clip however, it has been seen as a measure of economic well-being but this is mislead as important variables that constitute overall wellbeing of a so ciety are absent (Stiglitz et al, 2009). The GDP focuses solely on money to measure the economic and living standards of a country as it is a all-important(a) tool within any society. Money is easy to add up, helps in the understanding of markets, but it is not the sole driver of development (Stiglitz et al, 2009).On the interdict side, the GDP makes no distinction between the positive and the negative factor ins that contribute to social progress. For example an oil spill increases the GDP of a country due to clean-up costs totally ignoring the detrimental effect on the environment as well as wellbeing of the society. It therefore does not distinguish between sustainable and unstainable practices (Kubiszewski et al, 2013). Crime and break down of society are also viewed as positives since more monetary transactions in the form of input to counter these vices increase (Schepelmann et al, 2010).The GDP also ignores the internal economy, household and volunteer work, leisure as w ell as the outputs of government services that are important to the accessing of opportunities that improve individual freedoms (Stiglitz, et al, 2009). Human expectant investments like education and health care are treated as consumption and the GDP views technology as an end product discounting the benefits of insertion and efficiency that technology contribute to the wellbeing of a society.ConclusionEven though the definition of development varies and the tools used to measure development have faced criticism for various reasons, this does not negate the fact that measuring development is extremely important for the formulation of policies and strategies to deal with the challenges faced by individual countries that want to improve their citizens overall standard of living. By proposing that human development is more than just a sum total of monetary funds, the UNDP moved the focus away from a unilinear view of progress to track the multidimensional truth of what development a ctually is.The HDI has made it easier for governments especially in the developing world to focus their policies on tackling the root causes of poverty as opposed to dealing with the symptoms. As the rankings come out every course of instruction the underperforming countries that want to improve their rankings are then forced to focus on what matters as well as invest in data collection. It should be pointed out that money will always be an important factor in development as the availability of monetary funds opens doors to more opportunities to improve ones life choices and capabilities. The GDP will always be an important measurement tool in development and it should therefore not be summarily condemned just because it only measures one aspect of development.The alternative to improve on both indices is a continuous exercise in the development literature. The inclusion of income remittances from abroad in the GDP and renaming it the GNI is but one example of the flexibility of th is tool. Rapley (200210 ) quoted in Greig, Hulme Turner(2007) says as a rule there is a correlation between content income and a countrys ability to improve the social indicators of its multitude. The GDP and the HDI should therefore be viewed as complimentary tools in the theatre of operations of measuring development.BibliographyAllen, T. Thomas, A. (eds.)(2000). Poverty and Development into the 21st Century.Bilbao-Ubillos, J. (2011). The Limits of Human Development Index The Complementary Role of Economic and affable Cohesion, Development Strategies and Sustainability. 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