Latest news with #UnitedNationsHumanDevelopmentIndex
Mint
01-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
Kaushik Basu: Redefine prosperity; GDP tunnel-vision could prove costly
In mainstream economics, description is routinely treated as secondary to analysis. Labelling a work as 'purely descriptive' conveys dismissiveness. Yet, as Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen observed in a seminal 1980 paper, every act of description involves choices. Whether we are describing a historical event, an individual or a country, what we choose to include and what we leave out can be critical. Description shapes perception. And perception, in turn, can profoundly influence behaviour. Describing the state of a country's economy is a complicated task. In the past, scholars wrote lengthy volumes debating whether one country was doing better than another. But over time, globally, a single measure has come to dominate the conversation: gross domestic product, or GDP for short, which represents the value of all goods and services produced within a country in a given year. With some adjustments, it also approximates the population's total income. It is an astonishingly concise metric, often used as shorthand for economic well-being. Also Read: It's time to lay the great Indian GDP controversy to rest As Diane Coyle noted in her 2014 book on the history of GDP, its emergence marked a watershed moment in economic policymaking. Developed by Simon Kuznets in the early 1930s, GDP has brought much-needed rigour to policy debates. Politicians could no longer simply point to tall buildings as evidence of progress (though many still do). Today, assessing a country's economic performance over time means tracking the growth of its GDP. To be sure, there are other ways to assess national well-being, such as the United Nations Human Development Index and the World Bank's shared prosperity indicator. But when it comes to determining whether one economy is outperforming another, GDP (or GDP per capita) remains the default benchmark. While GDP has undoubtedly played a valuable role in modern economics, its limitations are increasingly difficult to ignore. Over time, it has become an end in itself, enabling politicians to use growth figures as a convenient distraction from persistent social and economic fractures. Growing unease with GDP-centric policy thinking was powerfully articulated in UN Secretary-General António Guterres's 2021 report Our Common Agenda, which urged global policymakers to embrace a broader set of progress indicators. Also Read: Statistical dust-up: The great Indian GDP controversy needn't have arisen As an economic indicator, GDP has three key weaknesses. First, by focusing solely on a country's total income, it can create the illusion of widespread prosperity, even when inequality is rising. GDP per capita can rise even as a majority becomes worse off. As Joseph E. Stiglitz put it in his 2010 book Freefall, 'A larger pie does not mean everyone–or even most people–gets a larger slice." But most people may celebrate GDP growth nonetheless—much like they cheer their country's Olympic medal count—without questioning who actually benefits. This concern was highlighted by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress, which was established in 2008 by then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy and included Joseph Stiglitz, Amartya Sen and other prominent economists. Its final report called for incorporating measures like income distribution and inequality into GDP. The second weakness of GDP is that its maximization often rewards activities that undermine democratic governance. Being super-rich, after all, involves more than just owning more cars, mansions, planes and yachts. Extreme wealth, especially in the age of social media and AI, also means having a louder voice and disproportionate influence over how people think. In traditional societies, when a feudal lord entered a village council meeting, ordinary people who may have been arguing and pleading for change just moments earlier would fall silent. That same dynamic is now playing out on a global scale. Also Read: The state of India's economy is not as bright as GDP data may suggest As wealth becomes concentrated in fewer hands, and as a handful of online platforms shape what billions of internet users see and hear, many are discovering that they are losing their voice—the most essential instrument of democracy. Clearly, the time has come to develop new measures of national progress that do not strengthen the forces threatening democracy. As US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously warned, 'We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." Lastly, GDP can be inflated at the expense of future generations. We can and do boost GDP growth by engaging in activities that damage the environment and accelerate climate change, leaving our descendants with a scorched earth. Given this, merely acknowledging the urgency of climate action is no longer enough. To ensure a sustainable future, we must reform our most prominent measure of economic welfare so that sustainability is central to how we define prosperity. ©2025/Project Syndicate The author is a professor of economics at Cornell University and a former chief economic adviser to the Government of India.
India Today
15-05-2025
- General
- India Today
7 Of The World's Worst Countries To Live In
7 Of The World's Worst Countries To Live In 15 May, 2025 Credit: Getty These are the seven hardest places to live across the world, according to the United Nations Human Development Index. Credit: Pixabay Life in Mozambique is tough due to economic instability, poor healthcare, high poverty, job scarcity, and poor education system. Credit: Getty MOZAMBIQUE Sierra Leone struggles with poverty, political unrest, poor healthcare, weak education, and infrastructure issues, making life tough for residents. SIERRA LEONE Burkina Faso struggles with political unrest, extremist violence, poor job prospects, and climate-hit farming, making life very hard. BURKINA FASO War-torn Yemen struggles with failing infrastructure, severe poverty, food shortages, and little access to healthcare and education. YEMEN Political tension, poverty, and lack of basic services make Burundi one of the hardest places to live. BURUNDI Life in Mali is hard due to coups, armed conflict, and limited access to essential public services like healthcare and education. MALI Chad's economy relies on oil, making citizens vulnerable to global price changes and worsening poverty, joblessness, and struggles in daily life. CHAD
Hindustan Times
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
India jumps four places to rank 130th on Human Development Index: UNDP report
India climbed four spots to the 130th position out of 193 countries in the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) for 2023, according to the report titled 'A matter of choice: People and possibilities in the age of Artificial Intelligence' released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Tuesday. The report is titled 'A matter of choice: People and possibilities in the age of Artificial Intelligence'. (UNDP) The country's HDI score rose from 0.644 in 2022 to 0.685 in 2023, driven by improvements in health, education, and income. Despite this, India remains in the medium human development category, sharing the same HDI value as Bangladesh, though key metrics differ. Pakistan ranks 168th with a score of 0.544 and Nepal at 145th with 0.622, while Sri Lanka holds the 89th position at 0.776. India's life expectancy also rose to 72 years in 2023 from 67.7 in 2022, while expected schooling years increased to 13 from 12.6, with average schooling years increasing to 6.9 from 6.57. Meanwhile, the per capita Gross National Income (GNI) jumped from $6,951 to $9,047 (PPP 2021). Bangladesh, with a matching HDI score, reported higher life expectancy (74.7 years), but lower GNI per capita ($8,498). The metric adjusted by inequality reveals a sharper picture, as India's HDI dropped to 0.475 when accounting for disparities in health, education, and income — a 30.66% decline. Gender gaps too persist. The Gender Development Index (GDI) stands at 0.874, with women scoring 0.631 compared to 0.722 for men. India ranks 102nd on the Gender Inequality Index (GII) at 0.403, reflecting challenges in reproductive health, political representation, and workforce participation. Among BRICS nations, India trails Brazil (89th), Russia (59th), China (75th), and South Africa (110th). Regionally, Sri Lanka leads, while Nepal and Bhutan lag. India's GNI per capita rank is seven positions below its HDI rank, indicating income remains a relative weakness compared to health and education. Global HDI progress has slowed to its weakest pace since 1990, excluding the pandemic years, as per the report. The gap between Very High and Low HDI countries has widened for four consecutive years, reversing decades of narrowing disparities. All regions face stalled HDI growth projections for 2024. 'If 2024's sluggish progress becomes 'the new normal', that 2030 milestone could slip by decades — making our world less secure, more divided, and more vulnerable to economic and ecological shocks,' said UNDP administrator Achim Steiner. The report notes the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate development but warns infrastructure gaps and talent migration could deepen inequalities. India, which reports the world's highest self-reported AI skill prevalence, plans a shared computing facility to support AI research and startups. Current applications include real-time farm assistance, local-language subsidy access, and farmer insurance services. A global survey tied to the report shows mixed public sentiment: half of respondents fear job automation, yet six in ten expect AI to create opportunities. In low- and medium-HDI countries, 70% predict AI-driven productivity gains, with two-thirds planning to adopt the technology in education, healthcare, or work within a year. Only 13% cite job loss concerns. UNDP officials urge sustained policy focus on inclusive growth and global cooperation to address systemic gaps. 'As Artificial Intelligence continues its rapid advance across so many aspects of our lives, we should consider its potential for development,' Steiner said. 'New capabilities are emerging almost daily, and while AI is no panacea, the choices we make hold the potential to reignite human development and open new pathways and possibilities.'
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mozambique's Second-Hand Clothing Industry: A Lifeline for Millions and a Catalyst for Economic Growth
New Report Calls for a Balanced Approach to Global Second-Hand Clothing Trade Amid Growing Policy Debates on Environmental Sustainability MAPUTO, Mozambique, March 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A new report by Consulting For Africa (CFA) and Abalon Capital Limitada (Abalon), commissioned by ADPP Mozambique, has revealed the vital role that the second-hand clothing (SHC) industry plays in the daily lives and economy of Mozambique. According to the research, the SHC industry provides: Over 200,000 formal and informal jobs, directly supporting over 1 million livelihoods $650 per month on average in earnings for well established vendors (compared to the national minimum wage of c.$90 per month) Basic clothing needs for at least 85% of the population c.$35 million in taxes towards the country's budget, which helps support vital social programmes such as education and healthcare Mozambique is one of the poorest countries globally, ranking 183rd out of 191 countries on the United Nations Human Development Index. With around 25% of the country's population currently unemployed, the report's findings underscore the importance of the SHC industry as a crucial source of basic clothing, employment and public finances. Therefore, any negative disruption to it could have devastating consequences for a population already grappling with widespread poverty. The report Current Status of Mozambique's Second-Hand Clothing Market: Opportunities and Challenges is the latest piece of research evaluating the global significance of the SHC industry, both economically and environmentally. Crucially, it highlights that in the broader debate over the global utility of the trade in second-hand clothing, the economic realities of the Global South must also be considered. Brian Mangwiro from Abalon Capital said: "Millions of livelihoods are deeply intertwined with SHC-related trade and services, not only in Mozambique but across Africa. Our findings underscore the importance of having an informed debate on the SHC sector, especially incorporating the learnings from developing countries. Policymakers must balance the push for improving environmental sustainability with the critical role that the SHC sector plays in frontier economics. Above all, global sustainability efforts should be informed by a clear understanding of the SHC value chain in low-income recipient countries." Madame Luisa Diogo, the former Prime Minister of Mozambique and Absa Bank Group Board Non-executive Director, who participated in the high-level panel for the report launch, said: "I warmly welcome this new report, which highlights how vital the SHC industry is for Mozambique's economy and the well-being of our people. This sector isn't merely about clothing; it is a source of dignity and opportunity, sustaining families, creating jobs and contributing significant tax revenue toward essential services such as education and healthcare. "The report outlines the tangible evidence of wide-ranging benefits the SHC trade brings to Mozambique and the African Continent. It underscores the importance of economic diversity to support both Mozambique and Africa's growth. I firmly believe that embracing the SHC trade as part of the green economy will be central to achieving Africa's foremost objectives—poverty reduction, sustainable development, and inclusive growth." The report also debunks the idea of SHC dumping, emphasising that the local culture is focused on clothing reuse, often passing items down through families or re-purposed by local seamsters. This practice further underscores the importance of the SHC industry in Mozambican society. The SHC sector has had a transformative effect on the prospects of many families, especially amongst the more marginalised groups such as women and youths, providing employment opportunities, upskilling the labour force and supporting livelihoods. This is consistent with published research reports on the SHC industry across Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly amongst the largest importers such as Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania. Restricting the trade in Europe and Africa could inadvertently benefit other large exporters, particularly China, which has rapidly expanded its presence in the global apparel market with inexpensive, low-quality 'fast' fashion. As debates about the future of SHC imports intensify, this report urges informed policy discussions on climate change, waste management, and environmental sustainability to not only safeguard the long-term viability of the sector but ensure global sustainability efforts do not become a zero-sum game. NOTES TO EDITORS For more information and to see the report contact: Derrick Amoako at derrick@ or Ana Grube ana@ About CFA Services CFA was established in 2007 specialising in monetization and Food Aid programs: working with the U.S. Government propelled food aid commodities in very challenging and developing market locations around the world, particularly Africa. CFA has led post-monetization market impact studies, evaluating the impact of food commodity sales on local food production, impact on price development, assessment of trade displacement, impact on availability and overall utilisation of local logistic capacity. CFA Services, is a limited liability company (LLC equivalent), fully insured and registered in the Republics of South Africa and Mauritius. About Abalon Capital LDA Abalon Capital is a professional services organisation that provides advisory services in market assessments, agricultural development, business structuring and SME business design and financial advisory. It focuses areas include value chain analysis and development, capacity building, rural development, operational excellence, business analysis and re-modelling, and developing strategic investment plans. Its clients include corporates (including SMEs), governments, development banks, foundations, local investors, communities and broader civil society. Since inception 10yrs ago, Abalon Capital has worked for major development agencies, including UNHCR, WFP, FAO, ILO, GAIN, EU and iDE Global, among others. Within the consortium, Abalon brings extensive experience in market research, including on monetisation programs in collaboration with CFA Services. About ADPP Mozambique ADPP Mozambique is a Mozambican non-governmental organisation working in the areas of quality education, health and well-being, sustainable agriculture and the environment. Created in 1982, the organisation has grown steadily, expanding its interventions throughout the country with the implementation of various projects. It currently employs around 3,300 people and implements more than 60 projects in all the country's provinces, benefiting around 8.2 million Mozambicans every year. ADPP's activities depend on funding from partnerships that have been created and established over more than 40 years of its existence in the country. 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