Development: Short Essay on

Development
Development is always deliberated with economic connotations and it is
referred to as an increase in the gross national product or in per capita
income. In this understanding, development is equated with growth and
it is envisioned that a quantum increase in the production of goods and
services would bring development.
It was also assumed that the trickledown effect of growth would lead to
an equitable sharing of benefits resources and opportunities in society.
This process of development, however, has not been able to yield the
desired result to humanity, especially in the developing countries.
Development pattern of the past few decades have shown the following
trends:

The high Gross National Product (GNP) growth of the fast growing
developing countries has failed to reduce the socio-economic deprivation
of substantial sections of their population. High income for the
industrialised countries has not been able to provide protection against
the rapid spread of social concerns like drug addiction and alcoholism,
AIDs, homelessness, violence and the breakdown of family relations.

Significantly, some low-income countries have demonstrated that it is

possible to achieve a high level of human development if they skillfully
use the available means to expand basic human capabilities. Against
this backdrop, there has been a perceptive shift in conceptualising
development. The realisation is that economic growth is essential for
humanity but it should be seen only as a means to improve human
choices.

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The essential truth that people must be at the centre of all development
can be stabilised in this process. The purpose of development is to offer
 people more options. One of their options is access to income – not as
an end in itself but as a means of acquiring human well being. But there
are other options as well, including long life, knowledge, political
freedom, personal security, community participation and guaranteed
human rights.

People cannot be reduced to a single dimension as an economic

creature. What makes them and the. Study of development process
fascinating is the entire spectrum through which human capacities are
expanded and utilised. It is no realised that people are the real wealth of
a nation that the basic objective of development is to create enabling
environment for the people to enjoy Ion healthy and creative lives and
that the statistical aggregates to measure national income and its growth
have at times obscured the fact that the primary objective of
development is to benefit people.

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About Human Development

THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX
THE AMERICAN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX
WHY EDUCATION, HEALTH AND INCOME?
Human development is defined as the process of enlarging people’s freedoms and opportunities and improving
their well-being. Human development is about the real freedom ordinary people have to decide who to be,
what to do, and how to live.

The human development concept was developed by economist Mahbub ul Haq. At the World Bank in the
1970s, and later as minister of finance in his own country, Pakistan, Dr. Haq argued that existing measures of
human progress failed to account for the true purpose of development—to improve people’s lives. In
particular, he believed that the commonly used measure of Gross Domestic Product failed to adequately
measure well-being. Working with Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen and other gifted economists, in 1990 Dr. Haq
published the first Human Development Report, which was commissioned by the United Nations Development
Programme.

Central to the human development approach is the concept of capabilities. Capabilities—what people can do
and what they can become-are the equipment one has to pursue a life of value. Basic capabilities valued by
virtually everyone include: good health, access to knowledge, and a decent material standard of living. Other
capabilities central to a fulfilling life could include the ability to participate in the decisions that affect one’s
life, to have control over one’s living environment, to enjoy freedom from violence, to have societal respect,
and to relax and have fun.

Our capabilities are expanded (or constrained) by our own efforts and by the institutions and conditions of our
society. People with extensive, well-developed capabilities have the tools they need to make their vision of “a
good life” a reality. Those poor in capabilities are less able to chart their own course and to seize opportunities.
Without basic capabilities, human potential remains unfulfilled.

The capability approach is a normative framework used for analyzing well-being, often employed to
understand development problems. Although certain aspects of the approach can be linked to Aristotle and
Adam Smith, it is philosopher-economist Amartya Sen and more recently, University of Chicago professor of
law and ethics Martha Nussbaum, who are responsible for its development and proliferation. The core premise
of the capability approach is that well-being should be defined by people’s real and actual opportunities to
undertake the pursuits that they desire (often referred to as ‘capabilities to function’) – and through these
freedoms, be whom they would like to be. One illustration of the difference between capabilities to function
and formal freedoms is found in the area of educational opportunity. All US citizens have the formal freedom
to earn a college degree. However when comparing students from low-income neighborhoods with more
affluent students, low-income students’ real freedoms to attend college can be constrained by, among other
things, low quality local high schools and financial considerations. Formal freedoms, in this and many cases,
are necessary but not sufficient to provide true capabilities to function.The capability approach to well-being,
which prioritizes the ability to actualize opportunity into ‘beings and doings’, contrasts with other theories of
well-being which focus on subjective measures, such as happiness, or on material means, such as income.

THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX

The state of the nation is often expressed through GDP (Gross Domestic Product), daily stock market results,
consumer spending levels, and national debt figures. But these numbers provide only a partial view of how
people are faring.

The Human Development Index was developed as an alternative to simple money metrics. It is an easy-to-
understand numerical measure made up of what most people believe are the very basic ingredients of human
well-being: health, education, and income. The first Human Development Index was presented in 1990. It has
been an annual feature of every Human Development Report since, ranking virtually every country in the
world from number one (currently Iceland) to number 177 (currently Sierra Leone).

This composite index has become one of the most widely used indices of well-being around the world and has
succeeded in broadening the measurement and discussion of well-being beyond the important, but nevertheless
narrow, confines of income. In a number of countries, the Human Development Index is now an official
government statistic; its annual publication inaugurates serious political discussion and renewed efforts,
nationally and regionally, to improve lives.

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THE AMERICAN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX

The Measure of America presents a modified American Human Development Index. The American HD Index
measures the same three basic dimensions as the standard HD Index, but it uses different indicators to better
reflect the U.S. context and to maximize use of available data. For example, while the standard index measures
access to knowledge using the average number of years that students spend in school, we have chosen instead
to use educational attainment, a more demanding indicator.
While data are plentiful on the extremes of affluence and deprivation in the United States, the American
Human Development Index provides a single measure of well-being for all Americans, disaggregated by state
and congressional district, as well as by gender, race, and ethnicity. All data used in the index come from
official U.S. government sources—the American Community Survey of the U.S. Census Bureau and the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The data included in the American Human Development Index will help us understand variations among
regions and groups. It is a snapshot of America today. Moreover, the index will serve as a baseline for
monitoring future progress.

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WHY HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND INCOME?

Most people would agree that a long and healthy life, access to knowledge, and a decent material standard of
living are the basic building blocks of well-being and opportunity. They are also the building blocks of the
American Human Development Index as well as the U.N. Human Development Index upon which it is
modeled. These three core capabilities are universally valued around the world, and measurable, intuitively
sensible, and reliable indicators exist to represent them—two critical considerations in the construction of a
composite index.

A LONG AND HEALTHY LIFE

The most valuable capability people possess is to be alive. Advancing human development requires, first and
foremost, expanding the real opportunities people have to avoid premature death by disease or injury, to enjoy
protection from arbitrary denial of life, to live in a healthy environment, to maintain a healthy lifestyle, to
receive quality medical care, and to attain the highest possible standard of physical and mental health.

In the American HD Index, life expectancy at birth stands as a proxy for the capability to live a long and
healthy life. Life expectancy at birth is the average number of years a baby born today is expected to live if
current mortality patterns continue throughout his or her lifetime. The most commonly used gauge of
population health the world over, life expectancy at birth represents one-third of the overall American HD
Index.

The American Human Development Project calculates life expectancy for the 50 states, the 435 congressional
districts, women and men, and major racial and ethnic groups from mortality data from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, and population data from the CDC WONDER
database.

ACCESS TO KNOWLEDGE
Access to knowledge is a critical determinant of long-term well-being and is essential to individual freedom,
self-determination, and self-sufficiency. Education is critical to people’s real freedom to decide what to do and
who to be. Education builds confidence, confers status and dignity, and broadens the horizons of the
possible—as well as allowing for the acquisition of skills and credentials. Globalization and technological
change have made it extraordinarily difficult for poorly educated Americans to achieve the economic self-
sufficiency, peace of mind, and self-respect enabled by a secure livelihood.

Access to knowledge is measured using two indicators: school enrollment for the population age 3 and older,
and educational degree attainment for the population 25 years and older. A one-third weight is applied to the
enrollment indicator and a two-thirds weight is applied to the degree attainment indicator. Both indicators are
from the American Community Survey, U.S. Census Bureau.

A DECENT STANDARD OF LIVING

Income is essential to meeting basic needs like food and shelter—and to moving beyond these necessities to a
life of genuine choice and freedom. Income enables valuable options and alternatives, and its absence can limit
life chances and restrict access to many opportunities. Income is a means to a host of critical ends, including a
decent education; a safe, clean living environment; security in illness and old age; and a say in the decisions
that affect one’s life. Money isn’t everything, but it’s something quite important.

A decent standard of living is measured using median personal earnings of all full- and part-time workers 16
years and older from the American Community Survey, U.S. Census Bureau.

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What is Human Development?

By HDRO Outreach
2015 marks 25 years since the first Human Development Report introduced a new approach for
advancing human flourishing. And while the expression “human development” is widely used, it is
understood in different ways around the world. So on the occasion of the 25th anniversary year of
human development reporting, we’d like to highlight how the Human Development Report Office
(HDRO) presents human development.
Credit: UNDP Kosovo’s animation "What is Human Development?" explains and promotes
sustainable human development.
Human development grew out of global discussions on the links between economic growth and
development during the second half of the 20th Century. By the early 1960s there were increasingly
loud calls to “dethrone” GDP: economic growth had emerged as both a leading objective, and
indicator, of national progress in many countries i, even though GDP was never intended to be used
as a measure of wellbeing ii. In the 1970s and 80s development debate considered using alternative
focuses to go beyond GDP, including putting greater emphasis on employment, followed by
redistribution with growth, and then whether people had their basic needs met.
These ideas helped pave the way for the human development approach, which is about expanding
the richness of human life, rather than simply the richness of the economy in which human beings
live. It is an approach that is focused on creating fair opportunities and choices for all people. So
how do these ideas come together in the human development approach?

 People: the human development approach focuses on improving the lives people lead rather
than assuming that economic growth will lead, automatically, to greater opportunities for all.
Income growth is an important means to development, rather than an end in itself.

 Opportunities: human development is about giving people more freedom and opportunities to
live lives they value. In effect this means developing people’s abilities and giving them a chance
 to use them. For example, educating a girl would build her skills, but it is of little use if she is
denied access to jobs, or does not have the skills for the local labour market. The diagram below
looks at aspects of human development that are foundational (that is they are a fundamental
part of human development); and aspects that are more contextual (that is they help to create
the conditions that allow people to flourish). Three foundations for human development are to
live a healthy and creative life, to be knowledgeable, and to have access to resources needed
for a decent standard of living. Many other aspects are important too, especially in helping to
create the right conditions for human development, such as environmental sustainability or
equality between men and women.

Enlarge diagram
Once the basics of human development are achieved, they open up opportunities for progress in
other aspects of life.

 Choices: human development is, fundamentally, about more choice. It is about providing people
with opportunities, not insisting that they make use of them. No one can guarantee human
happiness, and the choices people make are their own concern. The process of development –
human development - should at least create an environment for people, individually and
 collectively, to develop to their full potential and to have a reasonable chance of leading
productive and creative lives that they value.

The human development approach, developed by the economist Mahbub Ul Haq, is anchored in
Amartya Sen’s work on human capabilities, often framed in terms of whether people are able to “be”
and “do” desirable things in life iii. Examples include
Beings: well fed, sheltered, healthy
Doings: work, education, voting, participating in community life.
Freedom of choice is central: someone choosing to be hungry (during a religious fast say) is quite
different to someone who is hungry because they cannot afford to buy food.
As the international community seeks to define a new development agenda post-2015, the human
development approach remains useful to articulating the objectives of development and improving
people’s well-being by ensuring an equitable, sustainable and stable planet.
Notes:

What is Development?
Development is a process that creates growth, progress, positive change or the addition
of physical, economic, environmental, social and demographic components. The
purpose of development is a rise in the level and quality of life of the population, and the
creation or expansion of local regional income and employment opportunities, without
damaging the resources of the environment. Development is visible and useful, not
necessarily immediately, and includes an aspect of quality change and the creation of
conditions for a continuation of that change.
The international agenda began to focus on development beginning in the second half
of the twentieth century. An understanding developed that economic growth did not
necessarily lead to a rise in the level and quality of life for populations all over the
world; there was a need to place an emphasis on specific policies that would channel
resources and enable social and economic mobility for various layers of the population.
Through the years, professionals and various researchers developed a number of
definitions and emphases for the term “development.” Amartya Sen, for example,
developed the “capability approach,” which defined development as a tool enabling
people to reach the highest level of their ability, through granting freedom of action, i.e.,
freedom of economic, social and family actions, etc. This approach became a basis for
the measurement of development by the HDI (Human Development Index), which was
developed by the UN Development Program (UNDP) in 1990. Martha Nussbaum
developed the abilities approach in the field of gender and emphasized the
empowerment of women as a development tool.
In contrast, professionals like Jeffrey Sachs and Paul Collier focused on mechanisms
that prevent or oppress development in various countries, and cause them to linger in
abject poverty for dozens of years. These are the various poverty traps, including civil
wars, natural resources and poverty itself. The identification of these traps enables
relating to political – economic – social conditions in a country in an attempt to advance
development. One of the emphases in the work of Jeffrey Sacks is the promotion of
sustainable development, which believes in growth and development in order to raise
the standard of living for citizens of the world today, through relating to the needs of
environmental resources and the coming generations of the citizens of the world.