Question

Mention any two approaches of human development.

Hint:

The Capability Approach emphasizes human well-being beyond income, focusing on individual freedoms and opportunities. In contrast, the Human Development Index provides a quantitative measure of a country's overall development by combining health, education, and economic indicators.

Answer 1

Human development is a multi-dimensional concept that seeks to improve people's quality of life and well-being. Over the years, various approaches have emerged to measure and guide human development. Below are two major approaches that have shaped the way we understand and work towards human development:
i) The Capability Approach (Amartya Sen):
- The Capability Approach, developed by economist Amartya Sen, is centered on the idea that human development should focus on expanding the freedoms and opportunities that individuals have to live a life they value. Unlike traditional development measures such as GDP per capita, which focus on income and wealth, the Capability Approach emphasizes the ability of people to lead lives they value and have reason to value.
- According to this approach, development is not just about economic growth but about enhancing human capabilities—those things that a person is able to do or be. This can include the ability to be healthy, educated, and free from poverty, as well as the ability to participate in social and political life.
- This approach challenges the conventional focus on income and emphasizes the importance of social and individual freedoms. Sen argues that an individual's true development is measured by what they can actually do with the resources at their disposal rather than just their income or wealth. For example, if two people have the same income but one person is sick or disabled, they may not have the same opportunities to function fully in society.
- The Capability Approach also focuses on reducing inequalities and enhancing opportunities for disadvantaged groups, making it a more inclusive approach to human development. It offers a framework for measuring development that is centered on individuals' well-being and freedoms.
- Example: A country with equal income distribution but with widespread illiteracy may not be considered as developed according to the Capability Approach, because its citizens lack the capability to access education and live a fulfilling life.
ii) The Human Development Index (HDI) Approach:
- The Human Development Index (HDI) was developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to measure and track a country's overall achievement in three key dimensions: life expectancy (health), education (measured by mean years of schooling and expected years of schooling), and per capita income. HDI combines these indicators into a composite index score that can range from 0 to 1, with higher scores reflecting higher levels of human development.
- The HDI was introduced as a way to highlight the fact that economic growth, while important, is not the sole measure of human progress. It brought attention to issues such as health and education, which are critical components of quality of life but were often overlooked in traditional economic measures.
- The HDI has been used by policymakers around the world to assess the human development progress of countries, make international comparisons, and set development goals.
- While the HDI provides a broader measure of development compared to GDP, it has been criticized for not fully capturing inequalities, cultural differences, and other aspects of development such as environmental sustainability. However, it remains one of the most widely recognized and used indicators of human development.
- Example: Countries like Norway, Switzerland, and Iceland typically score high on the HDI, reflecting high life expectancy, strong education systems, and high per capita income, whereas countries in Sub-Saharan Africa often score low on the HDI due to poor healthcare, low levels of education, and lower income levels.