Human Development Index: An Introduction

The Human Development Index (HDI) has been looked on as an adequate indicator to measure the macro-health of a society. It consists of a weighted average mix of wealth, health and education, which are regarded as the key social drivers of any populace. The book tries to look at the micro and macro aspects of human development. In the macro situation, the book looks at the practical aspects of human development regionally, nationally and internationally, especially in Latin America and Africa, where the real test for these indicators would come about. An article on women is also included. The articles in the book look at the benefits of the HDI, with an emphasis on their practical limitations and shortcomings. But this is only a part of the picture. It is extremely important to look at valuing HDI in micro-context—in organizations, in goverment, in institutions, etc. Unless this is done, we cannot really derive optimum value from people. This is particularly so in the context of the increasing importance of the service sector. While agricultural and industrial sectors have only a partial input from people, in the service sector, the total input is considerably higher. The HDI looks only at the development of the base level, without really capturing the upside of human capital.The author fondly looks forward to the time when the micro and the macro measurements of human development will be networked all over the world, making it much easier for developmental aid to flow to the right places. This book is but a tiny contribution in that regard.