Which has the higher child mortality?

• SRI LANKA V TURKEY

• POLAND V SOUTH KOREA

• MALAYSIA V RUSSIA

• PAKISTAN V VIETNAM

• THAILAND V SOUTH AFRICA

Which has the higher child mortality?

• SRI LANKA V TURKEY

• POLAND V SOUTH KOREA

• MALAYSIA V RUSSIA

• PAKISTAN V VIETNAM

• THAILAND V SOUTH AFRICA

Measuring Development

LEARNING OBJECTIVE1. TO EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF DEVELOPMENT

INDICATORS AND HOW THEY ARE CALCULATED

Economic Indicator

• is a statistic about the economy. Economic indicators allow analysis of economic performance and predictions of future performance

Examples of Economic Indicators

• GDP – Gross Domestic Product – The value of output

produced within a country during a time period

• GDP/GNP per head/per capita – Takes account of the

size of the population

• GNI - Gross National Income

– The total value of goods and services produced within a country together with the balance of income and payments from or to other countries.

• Real GDP– Accounts for

differences in price levels in different countries

• Reliability of data?– How accurate is the data that is collected?

• Distribution of income?– How is the income distributed – does a small proportion of the

population earn a high percentage of the income or is income more evenly spread? Quality of life?

– Can changes in economic growth measure changes in the quality of life?

– Does additional earnings power bring with it additional stress, increases in working hours, increased health and family problems?

• Impact of exchange rate?– Difference in exchange rates can distort the comparisons – need to

express in one currency, but which one and at what value?

Problems with using GDP/GNI

• Black/informal economy?• Some economic activity not recorded –

subsistence farming and barter activity, for example

• Some economic activity is carried out illegally – building work ‘cash in hand’, drug dealing, etc.

• Work of the non-paid may not be considered but may contribute to welfare – charity work, housework, etc.

Problems with using GDP/GNI

Social Measures

Social Indicators

• are used to assess how well a country is developing in key areas such as health, education and diet. It is one way of finding out what is happening within a country.

Examples of Social Indicators

• Life Expectancy - is the average lifespan of someone born in that country. This can be affected by factors such as wars, natural disasters and disease. The higher the life expectancy the more developed the country.

• Birth Rate - Measures the number of babies born per thousand people per year. The higher this is, the less developed a country is supposed to be. The UK has around 13 babies born per year for every 1,000 people.

• Adult Literacy - Is the percentage of the adult population able to read and write.

• Infant Mortality - Measures the number of children who die before they reach the age of one for every thousand live births per year. The figure of 1000 is used so that countries of vastly different size can be compared.

THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX

• The HDI measures a country in three basic dimensions of human development:

• A long and healthy life, as measured by LIFE EXPECTANCY at birth.

• Knowledge, as measured by the adult LITERACY rate (with two-thirds weight) and the combined primary, secondary, and tertiary GROSS ENROLLMENT RATION (with one-third weight).

• A decent standard of living, as measured by GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP) per capita at PURCHASING POWER PARITY (PPP) in $US.

Happy Planet Index

• is an index of human well-being and environmental impact that was introduced by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) in July 2006. The index is designed to challenge well-established indices of countries’ development, such as GDP and the (HDI), which are seen as not taking sustainability into account.

• In particular, GDP is seen as inappropriate, as the usual ultimate aim of most people is not to be rich, but to be happy and healthy.