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A Poset-Generalizability Method for Human Development Indicators

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  • Flavio Comim

    (Universitat Ramon Llull
    University of Cambridge)

Abstract

The paper introduces a poset-generalizability perspective for analysing human development indicators. It suggests a new method for identifying admissibility of different informational spaces and criteria in human development analysis. From its inception, the Capability Approach has argued for informational pluralism in normative evaluations. But in practice, it has turned its back to other (non-capability) informational spaces for being imperfect, biased or incomplete and providing a mere evidential role in normative evaluations. This paper offers the construction of a proper method to overcome this shortcoming. It combines tools from poset analysis and generalizability theory to put forward a systematic categorization of cases with different informational spaces. It provides illustrations by using key informational spaces, namely, resources, rights, subjective well-being and capabilities. The offered method is simpler and more concrete than mere human development guidelines and at the same time it avoids results based on automatic calculations. The paper concludes with implications for human development policies and an agenda for further work.

Suggested Citation

  • Flavio Comim, 2021. "A Poset-Generalizability Method for Human Development Indicators," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 158(3), pages 1179-1198, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:158:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s11205-021-02737-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-021-02737-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Arcagni, Alberto & Avellone, Alessandro & Fattore, Marco, 2022. "Complexity reduction and approximation of multidomain systems of partially ordered data," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    2. Fattore, Marco & Alaimo, Leonardo Salvatore, 2023. "A partial order toolbox for building synthetic indicators of sustainability with ordinal data," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    3. Alaimo, Leonardo Salvatore & Galli, Emma & Rizzo, Ilde & Scaglioni, Carla, 2023. "A new index of transparency: Evidence for the Italian municipalities," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    4. Alberto Arcagni & Marco Fattore & Filomena Maggino & Giorgio Vittadini, 2021. "Some Critical Reflections on the Measurement of Social Sustainability and Well-Being in Complex Societies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-16, November.
    5. Comim, Flavio & Hirai, Tadashi, 2022. "Sustainability and Human Development Indicators: A Poset Analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    6. Marco Fattore & Stefania M.L. Rimoldi, 2023. "Effects of the Covid Pandemic on the Economic Vulnerability of Italian Society," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 247(4), pages 37-68, December.
    7. Abreu, Maria & Comim, Flavio & Jones, Calvin, 2022. "A capability-approach perspective on Levelling Up," SocArXiv qjau5, Center for Open Science.

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