EPAR Technical Report #309
Wed, 08/12/2015
Authors: 
Pierre Biscaye
Jordan Clarke
Eugenia Ho
Kiran Javaid
C. Leigh Anderson
Travis Reynolds
Abstract: 

We review the current body of literature exploring the theories behind holistic human development measurements and the tradeoffs of different methodologies for the construction of human development indices. Through a systematic review of published and grey literature in the fields of human, international, and economic development we identify 22 current indices that aggregate measures from multiple dimensions of human development. We then analyze these indices to identify tradeoffs related to their unique characteristics and construction methodologies, considering ease of calculation, coverage of different measures of human development, ease of interpretation, comparability, and novelty. The report is accompanied by an appendix of summary tables for each index with further details regarding background information, methodology, index components, and evaluation criteria addressed within the report.

Type of Research: 
Literature Review
Research Topic Category: 
Development Finance & Policy
Political Economy & Governance
Research & Development