The "International Human Suffering Index": Reconsideration of the Evidence

Abstract

The International Human Suffering Index published by the Population Crisis Committee purports to show for 130 developed and developing countries correlations between a summary measure of the level of suffering and population rates. Reconsideration of the evidence indicates that the correlations are largely the result of reverse causation and/or due to the simple observation that presently developed countries began modern economic growth earlier than less developed countries. In the latter countries key measures of human suffering are at most only weakly correlated with population change. (authors)