Defining Development

Put the countries on the cards in a hierarchy of development- from most developed to least developed. Afterwards, discuss the following & be prepared to share: How difficult did you find this activity? What criteria did you use to rank the countries? How did you interpret the term ‘development?’ If you used a different definition of development, then how might your hierarchy be different?

Defining Development via GDP per capita GDP per capita lists- Prepared by multiple orgs- IMF, World Bank, CIA - results tend to be similar, but do differ. Takes into account relative cost of living & inflation rates of the countries, also uses exchange rates Often considered one of indicators of country’s standard of living (but not a measure of personal income) How do they compare to your original list?

IMF – 2016 (print lists are from 2015)

Defining Development via Human Development Index (HDI) Composite statistic of life expectancy at birth, education period, income per capita Developed 1990 UN report- covers 185 of the member states, plus Hong Kong, Palestine Categories: very high- high- medium- low New methodology adopted since 2010- new reports since then appear lower than HDI figures in previous reports Attempt to shift from economic focus to human well-being How do they compare to your original list?

This map is from 2013 data- published 2014 (lists are from 2014 data, published 2015)

-------> Do you want to make any changes to your original hierarchy -------> Do you want to make any changes to your original hierarchy? ---> Difficulties in defining development as a concept “What is Development?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRmjoF5nv6s What if we think about development differently, instead of just in economic terms? What if….

Defining Development by Happiness Happy Planet Index (HPI)- index of human well-being and environmental impact (NOT personal happiness but ‘happiness of the planet’) Introduced 2006 by New Economics Foundation Other measures (like GDP & HDI) are seen as not taking sustainability into account (esp. GDP --- usual ultimate aim of most people is not to be rich, but happy & healthy) Weighted to give higher scores to nations with lower ecological footprints How do they compare to your original list?

From HPI’s website…. Wellbeing: How satisfied the residents of each country say they feel with life overall, on a scale from zero to ten, based on data collected as part of the Gallup World Poll. Life expectancy: The average number of years a person is expected to live in each country based on data collected by the United Nations. Inequality of outcomes: The inequalities between people within a country, in terms of how long they live, and how happy they feel, based on the distribution in each country’s life expectancy and wellbeing data. Inequality of outcomes is expressed as a percentage. Ecological Footprint: The average impact that each resident of a country places on the environment, based on data prepared by the Global Footprint Network. Ecological Footprint is expressed using a standardized unit: global hectares (gha) per person.

Nic Marks: The Happy Planet Index https://www. youtube. com/watch