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How Robust is the Human Development Index?

Author

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  • Miles Cahill

    (Department of Economics, College of the Holy Cross)

Abstract

The United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Index (HDI) has become a standard international measure of development. However, it has been criticized on several grounds. This paper investigates how robust the HDI is to changing two contentious aspects: the component statistics and the weighting scheme. An alternative index is computed using four times as many component statistics (and only life expectancy in common) and principal components to determine weights. The results are that the alternative index is very closely correlated with the HDI, suggesting the HDI is robust to alternative specifications. However, some advantages of the alternative methodology are detailed.

Suggested Citation

  • Miles Cahill, 2002. "How Robust is the Human Development Index?," Working Papers 0203, College of the Holy Cross, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hcx:wpaper:0203
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    Cited by:

    1. Bojan Ćudić & Iwona Skrodzka, 2021. "‘Soft’ Support Infrastructure And The Performance Of Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises In European Countries," Economic Annals, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Belgrade, vol. 66(230), pages 67-100, July – Se.
    2. Bojan Ćudić, 2021. "Factors impacting patent applications in European countries," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(3), pages 573-589, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Human Development Index;

    JEL classification:

    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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