Title: Progress in human development: Are we on the right path?

Authors: Hippu Salk Kristle Nathan, Srijit Mishra

Addresses: Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), General Arun Kumar Vaidya Marg, Goregaon (E), Mumbai 400 065, India. ' Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), General Arun Kumar Vaidya Marg, Goregaon (E), Mumbai 400 065, India

Abstract: The conventional measure of the Human Development Index (HDI) is a linear average in three dimensions, HDI₁. This is indifferent to uniformity in attainment across dimensions. An alternative, HDI₂, based on the shortfall from the ideal using Euclidean distance, addresses the above anomaly. These two measures are used to analyse progress in human development for 127 countries over the period 1990-2004. Introducing the notion of an ideal path, measures of fluctuation and normalised-change are proposed. Empirical illustration highlights the pattern in Sub-Saharan countries, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and some of the emerging economies.

Keywords: HDI; Human Development Index; ideal path; fluctuation measures; normalised change measures; sub-Saharan; CIS; Commonwealth of Independent States; emerging economies.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEPEE.2010.035178

International Journal of Economic Policy in Emerging Economies, 2010 Vol.3 No.3, pp.199 - 221

Published online: 11 Sep 2010 *

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