Lo sviluppo come fenomeno multidimensionale. Confronto tra l’ISU e un indice di sviluppo sostenibile (Development as Multi-dimensional Phenomenon: Comparison between the HDI and an Index of Sustainable Development)

Abstract

On the basis of the UNDP data used to calculate the Human Development Index (HDI), the paper applies a methodology to determine a different development index able to show disequilibria between the different aspects of development (in this case income, life expectancy and education). The basic idea is that the concept of total substitutability between the variables utilized to calculate the HDI must be abandoned, and it is therefore important to take into account the unbalance between the various aspects characterizing the development level when calculating the index. The author utilizes the concept of the social sustainability of development over time, assuming that it will show a higher value with a more even balance between the various aspects of development. The concave average methodology proposed in Casadio Tarabusi ePalazzi (2004) is able to "penalize" development levels proportionally to the disequilibrium of the variables utilized to measure it. In the paper the new indicator is calculated for 162 countries for the years 1997-2001. Comparison between HDI and the new index shows notable differences not only in the ranking of the countries, but also in the time dynamics of the two indicators, now of the opposite sign for many countries. Finally, utilizing multivariate statistical analysis the presence of disequilibria in the various countries is evidenced together with their dynamics over time.

JEL Codes: C43, O10, O15, Q01

Keywords: Development, Education, Human Development, Indice