Objective vs. Subjective Indicators Review

Objective Indicators Objective indicators are measured by numbers Can be broken down into specific groups like demographic, health, economic and social Some of the more popular objective indicators are: – Infant Mortality, Population Growth, People per Doctor, GNP per Capita, Unemployment, Literacy Rate, Daily Calorie Intake Make a T chart for Positive and Negatives of Objective Indicators

Positives of Objective Indicators Easily measured statistically Easily mapped for comparisons Can see broad patterns of development through mapping Where information has been collected for years can observe change and identify causes

Negative of Objective Development Often averages so they don’t account for the extreme ends of the spectrum Different methods of data collection can make comparison difficult Requires a good quality of data collection Time delay in release of statistical data Countries will avoid releasing negative figures or manipulate figures

Subjective Indicators Subjective Indicators are difficult to measure quantitatively but can be a combination of objective indicators – Ex. Using growth of income, inflation rates and political stability to determine Physical Wellbeing Most popular measuring device is Human Development Index (HDI) – Created in 1990 by United Nations – Goal is to measure Quality of Life not just Economic Growth

Exercise Classify the information from Wednesday lecture as well as using the Inequalities and Development book into objective and subjective indicators for Tanzania vs. USA