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The Human Development Index The Human Development Index: A conceptual and empirical deconstruction by Dale Powell, B.A. A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Geography Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario May, 2007 © 2007, Dale Powell Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Library and Bibliotheque et Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-33761-5 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-33761-5 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privee, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. i * i Canada Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract This study investigates the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI). It develops and tests the hypothesis that, at a practical and pragmatic level the HDI is technically a good surrogate for other facets of living conditions, which are often described as Quality of Life (QOL). The study focuses on an investigation of a subset (164) of the 177 countries in the Human Development Index using 32 variables. In the early stages, the presentation discusses the transition from a technical project in cartographic representation to a statistical analysis of the HDI. Next, the more conceptual aspects related to the definition of human development and quality of life is explored. The study found that countries with higher life expectancy, education, and income (the ingredients of the HDI) also typically share other benefits. They consume more resources, have better access to technology, have stronger community support, and distribute wealth more equitably on average than countries with low life expectancy, education, and income. The hypothesis that the HDI is pragmatically a good empirical surrogate for measuring living conditions is accepted. However, issues of concept, construction, and values remain unresolved. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgements I wish to thank all the staff at Social Watch in Montevideo, Uruguay, particularly Ernesto Rapetti and Roberto Bissio, for granting permission to use the Indicators Interactive Map, and for their hospitable and delightful correspondence. I appreciate Dr. Brian Eddy’s valued advice and his help providing Wellbeing of Nations data. I am truly grateful to my thesis supervisor, Dr. David Bennett for his guidance and patience, and for sharing his extraordinary wisdom. I especially would like to thank my loving wife Sylvie for being a constant source of encouragement. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................................................. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...................................................................................................................................iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................................................vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS................................................................................................................................ vii LIST OF APPENDICES................................................................................... ix PREFACE................................................................................................................................................1 1.0 INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................................6 2.0 INITIAL RESEARCH INTENTIONS AND SOME REVELATIONS........................................... 20 2.1 C onceptual Background and T heoretical Ba s is .......................................................................20 2.2 O riginal C o n c e p t ...................................................................................................................................28 2.3 W eb -map Pr o to type .............................................................................................................................. 33 2.3.1 Software........................................................................................................................................... 33 2.3.2 Architecture......................................................................................................................................35 2.3.3 Study Area .......................................................................................................................................35 2.3.4 Data and Data Collection .............................................................................................................35 2.4 Excel Ex p e r im e n t ..................................................................................................................................37 2.5 C o n c lu sio n ...............................................................................................................................................42 3.0 HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT............................................................................................44 3.1 H uman Developm ent Report Back g r o u n d ....................................................................................44 3.2 H uman Developm ent In d e x ................................................................................................................. 48 3.3 C onflating the H uman Developm ent Index as Q uality of Lif e .............................................. 54 3.4 H uman Developm ent Index C r it ic is m .............................................................................................. 57 3.4.1 Wellbeing of Nations.....................................................................................................................58 3.4.2 Miscellaneous HDI Criticisms.................................................................................................... 60 4.0 QUALITY OF LIFE..........................................................................................................................76 4.1 A review of David M. S m ith ’s W o r k .................................................................................................76 4.1.1 Measuring Well-being.......................................................................... 77 4.1.2 Measuring Inequality ............................................................................. 79 4.1.3 Opportunities of Power......................................................................... 80 4.1.4 Ethics and Morality ........................................................................................................................ 81 4.1.5 Community............................................................................................... 83 4.1.6 Inherited Opportunities................................................................................................................. 84 4.1.7 Basic Human Needs .....................................................................................................................85 4.1.8 The Environment............................................................................................................................ 86 4.1.9 Summary ..........................................................................................................................................87
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