A proposal for a modified Human Development Index

Abstract

The Human Development Index (HDI) is an indicator designed to track the development of countries in respect of three dimensions of development: health, education and income. Since it was first published in 1990, great efforts have been made to improve hdi, which, as has been stressed on numerous occasions, cannot be seen as a definitive measure of development. This paper includes a reflection on what constitutes human development, the pillars underpinning it and two new dimensions that should be incorporated into hdi (employment and political freedoms) for it to better express progress in development. This document will also present, in addition to the modified HDI, detailed instructions for its calculation and an annex including modified hdi scores for 117 countries.