HDRO Conference Room
15 December 2009
Time: 12:45- 2:00 p.m.
Topic
How we measure development determines to a large extent how development priorities are formed. The indices by which we measure success in development have fallen behind the discourse and debates on development. We intend to contribute to the determination of common development objectives in two ways. First, we suggest a set of 6 axioms according to which components of a development index, in line with the capabilities approach, should be chosen. Second, because the axiomatic approach highlighted a lack of comprehensiveness of the HDI, we suggest a new Extended Human Development Index (EHDI), which extends the HDI to include environmental measures - for which we try and compare two different measures – and social structures, in particular security and freedom from isolation. The addition of these two dimensions considerably affects the ranking of many countries, illustrating the potential impact of development aspects that are not accounted for in the HDI. The EHDI emphasizes a broader concept of development in which the ecological and social environment matter as much as the individual capabilities imbedded in wealth, knowledge and health.
About the Speaker
Ajay Chhibber is Assistant Secretary-General and Assistant Administrator at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and head of its Asia-Pacific Bureau. Prior to that, he worked at the World Bank for almost 25 years on a range of development issues, managing its programs in Vietnam and Turkey and in Indonesia and the Pacific. He was the lead author of the seminal work on Governance at the World Bank, the 1997 World Development Report on the Role of the State. He has published widely including five books on economic development and many articles in international journals and in major newspapers. He has a Ph.D. from Stanford University, a Masters from the Delhi School of Economics and has worked at the Indian Planning Commission and at the International Food Policy Research Institute. He has also taught economics at Georgetown University and the University of Delhi.
HDR 2010 seminar series
The event will take place in the HDRO Conference Room, 304 East 45th Street, FF building 12th Floor. For more information, and to organize a building pass, please contact melissa.hernandez@undp.org
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