The Human Development concept

Human Development is a development paradigm that is about

much more than the rise or fall of national incomes. It is about
creating an environment in which people can develop their full
potential and lead productive, creative lives in accord with
their needs and interests. People are the real wealth of
nations. Development is thus about expanding the choices
people have to lead lives that they value. And it is thus about
much more than economic growth, which is only a means if a
very important one of enlarging people!s choices.
"undamental to enlarging these choices is building human
capabilities the range of things that people can do or be in
life. The most basic capabilities for human development are to
lead long and healthy lives, to be #nowledgeable, to have
access to the resources needed for a decent standard of living
and to be able to participate in the life of the community.
$ithout these, many choices are simply not available, and
many opportunities in life remain inaccessible.
%The basic purpose of development is to enlarge
people&s choices. In principle, these choices can be
in'nite and can change over time. People often value
achievements that do not show up at all, or not
immediately, in income or growth 'gures( greater
access to #nowledge, better nutrition and health
services, more secure livelihoods, security against
crime and physical violence, satisfying leisure hours,
political and cultural freedoms and sense of
participation in community activities. The ob)ective of
development is to create an enabling environment for
people to en)oy long, healthy and creative lives.%
*ahbub ul Ha+
"ounder of the Human Development ,eport

This way of loo#ing at development, often forgotten in the
immediate concern with accumulating commodities and
'nancial wealth, is not new. Philosophers, economists and
political leaders have long emphasi-ed human wellbeing as the
purpose, the end, of development. As Aristotle said in ancient
.reece, /$ealth is evidently not the good we are see#ing, for
it is merely useful for the sa#e of something else.0
In see#ing that something else, human development shares a
common vision with human rights. The goal is human freedom.
And in pursuing capabilities and reali-ing rights, this freedom
is vital. People must be free to exercise their choices and to
participate in decision1ma#ing that a2ects their lives. Human
development and human rights are mutually reinforcing,
helping to secure the well1being and dignity of all people,
building self1respect and the respect of others.
3rigins of the Human Development Approach
The Human Development approach arose in part as a result of
growing criticism to the leading development approach of the
4567s, which presumed a close lin# between national economic
growth and the expansion of individual human choices. *any,
such as Dr. *ahbub ul Ha+, the Pa#istani economist who
played a #ey role in formulating the human development
paradigm, came to recogni-e the need for an alternative
development model due to many factors, including(
.rowing evidence that did not support the then
prevailing belief in the /tric#le down0 power of mar#et
forces to spread economic bene'ts and end poverty8
The human costs of 9tructural Ad)ustment Programmes
became more apparent8
9ocial ills :crime, wea#ening of social fabric, HI;<AID9,
pollution, etc.= were still spreading even in cases of
strong and consistent economic growth8
A wave of democrati-ation in the early 57!s raised hopes
for people1centred models.
*any of its #ey principles, however, can be found in the
writings of scholars and philosophers from past eras and
across many societies.
As of 4557, the human development concept was applied to a
systematic study of global themes, as published in the yearly
global Human Development ,eports under the auspice of the
>?DP. The wor# of Amartya 9en and others provided the
conceptual foundation for an alternative and broader human
development approach de'ned as a process of enlarging
people!s choices and enhancing human capabilities :the range
of things people can be and do= and freedoms, enabling them
to( live a long and healthy life, have access to #nowledge and a
decent standard of living, and participate in the life of their
community and decisions a2ecting their lives.

%Human development, as an approach, is concerned
with what I ta#e to be the basic development idea(
namely, advancing the richness of human life, rather
than the richness of the economy in which human
beings live, which is only a part of it.%
Prof. Amartya 9en
Professor of @conomics, Harvard >niversity
?obel Aaureate in @conomics, 4556

Human development has always been Bexible and /open1
ended0 with respect to more speci'c de'nitions. There can be
as many human development dimensions as there are ways of
enlarging people!s choices. The #ey or priority parameters of
human development can evolve over time and vary both across
and within countries.
9ome of the issues and themes currently considered most
central to human development include(
9ocial progress 1 greater access to #nowledge, better
nutrition and health services.
@conomics C the importance of economic growth as a
means to reduce ine+uality and improve levels of human
development.
@Dciency 1 in terms of resource use and availability.
human development is pro1growth and productivity as
long as such growth directly bene'ts the poor, women
and other marginali-ed groups.
@+uity 1 in terms of economic growth and other human
development parameters.
Participation and freedom 1 particularly empowerment,
democratic governance, gender e+uality, civil and
political rights, and cultural liberty, particularly for
marginali-ed groups de'ned by urban1rural, sex, age,
religion, ethnicity, physical<mental parameters, etc.
9ustainability 1 for future generations in ecological,
economic and social terms.
Human security 1 security in daily life against such
chronic threats as hunger and abrupt disruptions
including )oblessness, famine, conBict, etc.
Human Development Indices
The four main Human Development Indices developed by the
Human Development ,eport are(HDI 1 Human Development
Index :a summary measure of human development=
The 'rst Human Development ,eport :4557= introduced a new
way of measuring development by combining indicators of life
expectancy, educational attainment and income into a
composite human development index, the HDI. The
brea#through for the HDI was the creation of a single statistic
which was to serve as a frame of reference for both social and
economic development. The HDI sets a minimum and a
maximum for each dimension, called goalposts, and then
shows where each country stands in relation to these
goalposts, expressed as a value between 7 and 4..DI 1 .ender1
related Development Index :the HDI ad)usted for gender
ine+uality=
This index measures achievement in the same basic
capabilities as the HDI does, but ta#es note of ine+uality in
achievement between women and men. The methodology used
imposes a penalty for ine+uality, such that the .DI falls when
the achievement levels of both women and men in a country go
down or when the disparity between their achievements
increases. The greater the gender disparity in basic
capabilities, the lower a country&s .DI compared with its HDI.
The .DI is simply the HDI discounted, or ad)usted downwards,
for gender ine+uality..@* 1 .ender @mpowerment *easure
:gender e+uality in economic and political participation and
decision ma#ing=
The .ender @mpowerment *easure :.@*= is a measure of
agency. It evaluates progress in advancing women&s standing
in political and economic forums. It examines the extent to
which women and men are able to actively participate in
economic and political life and ta#e part in decision1ma#ing.
$hile the .DI focuses on expansion of capabilities, the .@* is
concerned with the use of those capabilities to ta#e advantage
of the opportunities of life.
HPI 1 Human Poverty Index :the level of human poverty=
,ather than measure poverty by income, the HPI uses
indicators of the most basic dimensions of deprivation( a short
life, lac# of basic education and lac# of access to public and
private resources. The HPI concentrates on the deprivation in
the three essential elements of human life already reBected in
the HDI( longevity, #nowledge and a decent standard of living.
%Human development and human rights are enshrined
in today!s world. Eut they have not yet become the
core values of our reality. The stability and success of
any country will not be secure until we are able to
spread the bene'ts in a more e+uitable manner. The
obscene wealth of the few cannot be at the expense of
the hungry and the destitute.%
,everend Desmond *. Tutu
Anglican Archbishop @meritus of Fape Town