15 7.3 Human Development Index
Defining Human Development
As a geographically literate scholar and citizen, you should be following current events around the world. If you do this, you will undoubtedly hear many discussions about development. You might listen to conversations of some countries that are “developing” and other countries that are “developed.” You might also understand terms like “First World” and “Third World.” You will also hear about how well development in the United States or other countries is going at any given time. Finally, you may listen to discussions about specific types of development, such as sustainable development. However, what does all this mean?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1xBpBaBbrA
It turns out that “development” does not have one single, simple definition. There are multiple definitions and multiple facets to any one definition. There are also numerous, competing opinions on the various understandings of what “development” is. Often, “development” is viewed as being a good thing, and it is easy to see why. People in “developed” countries tend to have longer lives, more comfortable housing, more options for careers and entertainment, and much more. However, whether or not “development” is proper is ultimately a question of ethics. Just as there are multiple views on ethics, there are various views on whether or not “development” is proper. Later in this module, we will see some cases in which “development” might not be considered to be good.
The simplest and most common measures for development are those based on monetary statistics like income or gross domestic product (GDP, which measures in monetary terms how much an economy is producing). These monetary statistics are readily available for countries and other types of places across the world and are very convenient to work with. Likewise, it is easy to find a good map of these statistics, such as this one of GDP.
However, statistics like income and GDP are controversial. One can have a high income or GDP and low quality of life. Put, there is more to life than money. Furthermore, monetary statistics often overlook essential activities that do not involve money, such as cooking, cleaning, raising children, and even subsistence farming. These activities are usually performed by women, so a focus on monetary statistics often brings significant underestimates of the contributions of women to society. Finally, high incomes and GDPs are often associated with sizeable environmental degradation. From an ecocentric ethical view, that is a problem.
Another way of looking at development is one based on health statistics such as life expectancy or child mortality. These statistics show another facet of development. In many cases, those with much money also have better health. However, this trend does not always hold. Take a look at this life expectancy map:
A third way of looking at development is one based on end uses. End-uses are the ultimate purposes of whatever