Occasional Papers

Inventory

An Inventory of Composite Measures of Human Progress

By: Yang, Lin
2014
Since the first Human Development Index (HDI) was published in 1990, a wealth of composite measures of human progress and well-being have been developed to varying degrees of acclaim and scrutiny. The range of authors has likewise been broad, including...Read more

Vulnerability Traps and Their Effects on Human Development

By: Rehman Sobhan
2014
This paper explores asymmetrical risks that leave some people more vulnerable than others, and relates these asymmetries to the structurally derived variations in socioeconomic circumstances. It focuses on vulnerabilities originating in inequitable...Read more

Youth Vulnerabilities in Life Course Transitions

By: Abby Hardgrove, Kirrily Pells, Jo Boyden and Paul Dornan
2014
This paper examines youth vulnerabilities, with a particular emphasis on low- and middle-income countries. It touches on the challenges confronted by young people exposed to extreme, life-threatening circumstances, such as political violence and armed...Read more

Trans-border Vulnerabilities

By: Khalil Hamdani
2014
Global connectivity is a powerful dynamic for human development. It is also a source of vulnerability. As people become more mobile and countries more interdependent, their interactions give rise to vulnerabilities that transcend borders. This is an...Read more

Reducing Vulnerability in Critical Life Course Phases by Enhancing Human Capital

By: Samir KC, Wolfgang Lutz, Elke Loichinger, Raya Muttarak and Erich Strießnig
2014
This paper takes a demographic perspective and addresses differential vulnerability for men and women as they pass through their life cycles. A particular focus lies on differential vulnerability by level of education. The analysis starts with a global...Read more
Gomez 2014

Evolution of Thinking and Research on Human and Personal Security 1994-2013

By: Gasper, Des; Gómez, Oscar A.
2014
Human security analysis considers the intersection of deprivation and vulnerability, and is an essential part, or partner, of human development thinking, giving special attention to risks and forces of disruption and destruction. This paper highlights...Read more
Gomez 2014

Evolution of Thinking and Research on Human and Personal Security 1994-2013

By: Gasper, Des; Gómez, Oscar A.
2014
Human security analysis considers the intersection of deprivation and vulnerability, and is an essential part, or partner, of human development thinking, giving special attention to risks and forces of disruption and destruction. This paper highlights...Read more
Hale 2014

Improving Global Collective Action in a Connected World

By: Hale, Thomas
2014
Rising interdependence creates a need for greater global cooperation to manage basic policy problems, like providing economic stability and development, maintaining security and ensuring environmental sustainability. But the intergovernmental...Read more
Kabeer 2014

Violence against Women as ‘Relational’ Vulnerability: Engendering the Sustainable Human Development Agenda

By: Kabeer, Naila
2014
Violence against women can be conceptualized as a ‘relational vulnerability’, reflecting women’s subordinate status within hierarchical gender relations and the dependencies associated with it. While such violence can take many different forms, this...Read more
Mahbub-ul-Haq-Lecture

Inaugural Mahbub ul Haq-Amartya Sen Lecture, UNIGE

Advancing, Sustaining Human Progress: From Concepts to Policies
By: Malik, Khalid
2014
Mahbub was that rare combination of thinker-doer. A former Minister of Finance in his home country Pakistan, he was acutely aware that theoretical debates were not enough, and that we have to think about policies that make a difference in the lives of...Read more