While the expression “human development” is widely used, it is understood in different ways around.. Show
Posted February 19, 2015 2015 marks 25 years since the first Human Development Report introduced a new approach for advancing human flourishing. And while the expression “human development” is widely used, it is understood in different ways around the world. So on the occasion of the 25th anniversary year of human development reporting, we’d like to highlight how the Human Development Report Office (HDRO) presents human development. Credit: UNDP Kosovo’s animation "What is Human Development?" explains and promotes sustainable human development. Human development grew out of global discussions on the links between economic growth and development during the second half of the 20th Century. By the early 1960s there were increasingly loud calls to “dethrone” GDP: economic growth had emerged as both a leading objective, and indicator, of national progress in many countries i, even though GDP was never intended to be used as a measure of wellbeing ii. In the 1970s and 80s development debate considered using alternative focuses to go beyond GDP, including putting greater emphasis on employment, followed by redistribution with growth, and then whether people had their basic needs met. These ideas helped pave the way for the human development approach, which is about expanding the richness of human life, rather than simply the richness of the economy in which human beings live. It is an approach that is focused on creating fair opportunities and choices for all people. So how do these ideas come together in the human development approach?
The human development approach, developed by the economist Mahbub Ul Haq, is anchored in Amartya Sen’s work on human capabilities, often framed in terms of whether people are able to “be” and “do” desirable things in life iii. Examples include Beings: well fed, sheltered, healthy Doings: work, education, voting, participating in community life. Freedom of choice is central: someone choosing to be hungry (during a religious fast say) is quite different to someone who is hungry because they cannot afford to buy food. As the international community seeks to define a new development agenda post-2015, the human development approach remains useful to articulating the objectives of development and improving people’s well-being by ensuring an equitable, sustainable and stable planet. Notes: i Kennedy, Robert. (1968). Address to the
University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas on March 18, 1968. www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27718.htm Photo credit: UNDP Mongolia's #GivingTuesday More on human development Which of the following best explains Niebuhrs likely purpose in recounting Soviet actions in postwar Europe?Which of the following best explains Niebuhr's likely purpose in recounting Soviet actions in postwar Europe? By pointing out the hypocrisy of Soviet policies, he hoped to encourage a more confrontational stance on the part of the United States government.
Which of the following aspects of the immediate historical situation in China in 1958 best explains?Which of the following aspects of the immediate historical situation in China in 1958 best explains the author's perspective in the passage? Chinese leaders had made it clear that meeting the goals of the Great Leap Forward was the highest priority facing the country.
Which of the following events that preceded the outbreak of the First World War?The event that sparked the conflagration was the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, in 1914. But historians say that World War I actually was the culmination of a long series of events, stretching back to the late 1800s.
Which of the following was a common characteristic of the major revolutions that occured in Russia China and Mexico in the early twentieth century?Which of the following was a common characteristic of the major revolutions that occurred in Russia, China, and Mexico in the early twentieth century? Nationalism and socialism helped shape all three revolutions.
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