Human Development Index in Ecuador: Real Purchasing Power, Education, and Health
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX
ECUADOR
In order for there to be great countries, there must be great people, for people are the hub of progression and advancement and are what enable economies to function. Therefore, to measure the strength of a country solely based on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or by the rise and fall of incomes within that nation is an inaccurate way of assessing that nation’s development. There are more important factors that should be evaluated to represent that strength instead, such as how the people are treated, how healthy they are, and what their potential is as a human beings. In order to reflect a country’s personal development in an accurate manner that would enable them to be ranked along with other countries around the world.
The Human Development Index combines indicators of real purchasing power, education, and health in order to give a more comprehensive measure that incorporates both economic and social variables. By creating this index, “Governments are able to use HDI as an instrument for assessing their performance against that of neighboring countries,” and then compete to surpass other countries in a healthy way instead of just basing achievement on money statics.
For example, Ecuador’s HDI value for 2010 is 0.695—in the high human development category—positioning the country at 77 out of 169 countries and areas. The HDI is not designed to assess progress in human development over a short time period because some of its component indicators do not change rapidly in response to policy changes. This is particularly so for mean years of schooling and life expectancy at birth. It is, however, useful to review HDI progress over the medium to long term. Between 1980 and 2010, Ecuador’s HDI value increased from 0.576 to 0.695, an increase of 21 per cent or average annual increase of about 0.6 per cent. With such an increase Ecuador is ranked 72 in terms of HDI improvement based on deviation from fit, which measures progress in
ECUADOR
In order for there to be great countries, there must be great people, for people are the hub of progression and advancement and are what enable economies to function. Therefore, to measure the strength of a country solely based on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or by the rise and fall of incomes within that nation is an inaccurate way of assessing that nation’s development. There are more important factors that should be evaluated to represent that strength instead, such as how the people are treated, how healthy they are, and what their potential is as a human beings. In order to reflect a country’s personal development in an accurate manner that would enable them to be ranked along with other countries around the world.
The Human Development Index combines indicators of real purchasing power, education, and health in order to give a more comprehensive measure that incorporates both economic and social variables. By creating this index, “Governments are able to use HDI as an instrument for assessing their performance against that of neighboring countries,” and then compete to surpass other countries in a healthy way instead of just basing achievement on money statics.
For example, Ecuador’s HDI value for 2010 is 0.695—in the high human development category—positioning the country at 77 out of 169 countries and areas. The HDI is not designed to assess progress in human development over a short time period because some of its component indicators do not change rapidly in response to policy changes. This is particularly so for mean years of schooling and life expectancy at birth. It is, however, useful to review HDI progress over the medium to long term. Between 1980 and 2010, Ecuador’s HDI value increased from 0.576 to 0.695, an increase of 21 per cent or average annual increase of about 0.6 per cent. With such an increase Ecuador is ranked 72 in terms of HDI improvement based on deviation from fit, which measures progress in
Bibliography: http://www.eoearth.org/article/Human_Development_Index http://hdrstats.undp.org/images/explanations/ECU.pdf