Human development is the most important breakthroughs in the 1970s in the development economics. From 1970s and onwards the broader meanings of development at the conceptual level was recognized but there was no way to quantify it. Between 70s and 90s numbers of attempts were made by development professionals, one of the concept was physical quality of life index (PQLI) which was developed in the late 70s.
GDP
or GNP per capita was defining items, and all the countries had national
accounts which allow very neat kind of analysis. But it does not capture the
social or human side of development. In 1989 when Mehbub-ul-haq joined UNDP he
worked with a number of people and came up with Human Development Index (HDI).
Human Development Index although more complex than GDP per capita measure, it
brought together four indicators. First measure in Human Development Index is
life expectancy at birth (how many children die out of 1000), second is
literacy (they added combined enrollment of primary tertiary and higher education),
finally GDP per capita at Purchasing power parity. Index was divided into three categories, high
human development index (between 0.8 and 1), medium human development index
(between 0.5 and o.8), and low human development index (below 0.5).
This was
remarkable categorization because if put with the per capita income is divorce,
in some countries the per capita income is high and human development index is
low and in some other countries it was the reverse, so these two measures
together show where the country is heading. Within three to four years, when
measures like per capita income proved weak and in some cases misleading
measure, starting from 1990s it led to
very interesting debate because it was regarded as major conceptual
breakthrough in understanding and measuring development. Then country after
country started measuring country level human index.
The preseason why economies were
experiencing the deteriorating levels of developing despite increase in per
capita income was the fundamental flaw the public policies. The poorly designed
interventions accrue substantial benefits to the non deserving groups.
Furthermore there was no balance between targeted and across the board
policies. As Mehbub ul haq suggested the well structured across the board
policies are likely to be appropriate where incomes are low but distribution is
good. In countries with higher income and good growth but skewed income
distribution, targeted interventions that favor the poor are necessary to
supplement across the board policies.
It
was not as only conceptual breakthrough, around the human development index a
major program of analytical research was started and annual human development
report of very substantial kind also started which is published every year.
UNDP
gained tremendous respect in the US due to its research of human development of
the world otherwise it was doing just projects. Each report has a theme for
example 2003 report talks about MDGs and how to achieve those.
Much
of the world once believed that GDP as only sufficient indicator of development
but concept of human development from the conceptual level came through
measurement and now it has come to policy prescriptions and country level
studies. This is how mehbub-ul-haq changed the world because now each country
can see its picture and can adjust policies and learn from other countries
experiences.
Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen put it correctly when he said, "This initiative in global communication…was no more than one instrument this creative man used as an essential component of his fight against deprivation and unfreedom across the world. We have to remember that Mahbub wanted to change the world – not merely to measure it.‟ ( A. K. Sen 2008)
