Counting for something: valuing the Human Development Index

Abstract

This chapter explores the Human Development Index (HDI), established by the United Nations and used since 1990 to rank countries in terms of human development. Acknowledging the importance of people and their capabilities as the ultimate criteria when assessing a country’s development, it has become one of the most common and widely accepted measures of economic development worldwide. The chapter provides the history and origin of the HDI and examines the methodology and its development and the further indices designed to capture a greater breadth of understanding in the complexities of human development. The indices are not meant to work alone. Future research is directed to address data gaps that impact international comparisons, to develop improved measures to better assess inequality in human development, and to consider indices other than ‘income’ in a rapidly changing world where inequality is systemic and the means for addressing it are often an afterthought.