Occasional Papers

A New Generation of Data for Human Development

By: Peter Hackl
2018
Human Development Reports have been annually published by the Human Development Report Office at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) since 1990. Discussion about the relevant dimensions of the Human Development Index (HDI), the appropriate...Read more

Recasting Human Development Measures

By: Sudhir Anand
2018
The UNDP introduced three new human development measures in its 2010 Human Development Report, which it has since continued to estimate and report on annually. These measures are the geometrically-averaged Human Development Index (HDI), the Inequality-...Read more

Rethinking Human Development in an Era of Planetary Transformation

By: Kishan Khoday
2018
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to set a new balance between people and planet, in stark contrast to the heavy social orientation and human centric nature of past development policy. This...Read more

Policies for human development

By: Christina Lengfelder
2017
The Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) distinguishes itself from other flagship reports on development in the sense that it is based on an innovative concept that defines development as the expansion of choices by...Read more

Review of conceptual and measurement innovations in national and regional Human Development Reports, 2010-2016

By: Christina Lengfelder and Christelle Cazabat
2016
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has published the global Human Development Report on an annual base since 1990. Apart from the global reports, a number of country and regional offices have published human development reports that aim at...Read more

Happiness, well-being and human development

By: Anand, Paul
2016
In recent years, economists have made increasing use of psychological measures of well-being. This paper argues that these data and models can make important contributions to human development. The paper begins by offering an overview of some key...Read more

Human development, disparity and vulnerability: women in South Asia

By: Ayesha Banu
2016
This paper provides a literature review of intrahousehold gender disparities in South Asia. The paper draws on quantitative and qualitative research focusing on three countries—Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka—as well as Pakistan to a lesser extent. The...Read more

Achieving universalism in developing countries

By: Juliana Martínez Franzoni ; Diego Sánchez-Ancochea
2016
Expanding people’s capabilities requires health care, education and a sufficient income throughout their lives. But how can policies be designed to ensure social rights and truly enhance capabilities? What should be the role of states and what of markets...Read more

Achieving universalism in developing countries

By: Juliana Martínez Franzoni ; Diego Sánchez-Ancochea
2016
Expanding people’s capabilities requires health care, education and a sufficient income throughout their lives. But how can policies be designed to ensure social rights and truly enhance capabilities? What should be the role of states and what of markets...Read more

Sharing the journey: the way ahead for human development and human security frameworks

By: Oscar A. Gómez, Ako Muto and Sachiko G. Kamidohzono
2016
As an intellectual offspring of human development ideas and practice, the evolution of the human security concept can offer some insights about how to rethink human development in the post-2015 era. This view originates from human security’s focus on a...Read more