Indices and indicators in development : an unhealthy obsession with numbers? / Stephen Morse.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Morse, Stephen, 1957-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Economic development--Statistical methods.

Economic development.

Economic indicators.

Social indicators.

Physical Description:

xvii, 206 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; Sterling, VA : Earthscan, 2004.

Summary:

* When are numbers the basis for sound decisions and when do they result in planning and policy disasters?

Contents:

1 Simplifying Complexity: Why Do We Need Indicators? 1

Indicators and league tables 5

Modernist development 21

Modernization to dependency 24

Neopopulism, neoliberalism and anti-development 25

Sustainable development 27

Indicators of development 29

2 Development Indicators: Economics 33

Economic activity: The Gross Domestic Product 34

Problems with the Gross Domestic Product 39

Gross National Product and other indicators 49

Gross Domestic Product and consumption 54

3 Development Indicators: Poverty 60

Headcount Ratio 61

Income Gap Ratio 63

Poverty Gap Index 67

Income inequality 69

4 Integrating Development Indicators 83

Human development 85

Birth of the Human Development Index 87

Calculating the Human Development Index 88

The 'HDI' family of human development indices 100

Critiques of the Human Development Index 106

5 The Precarious Art of Simplifying Complexity 118

Indicators of sustainable development 119

Environmental Sustainability Index 121

Corruption and human development 132

6 Taking Care with Development Indicators 150

Is the Human Development Index used by anyone? 151

Interpreting indices: Over-reduction? 156

Development indices and policy 171

7 A Comparative Indicatorology 176

Some meetings in Italy 176

People's indicators 180

Sense, fondness or obsession? 182

Appendix 1 Factor analysis: a brief introduction 194.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1844070115

1844070123

OCLC:

55671247