Limitations of Developing Measures
Geography: AQA GCSE, topic 5.1.2
What are the Limitations of Measures of Development?
The standard economic and social measures of development have limitations:
Development is complex
- Measuring development is complex. There are lots of interacting parts.
- A nation could discover lots of oil and its national income would rise. However, if that nation was corrupt, there could be lots of inequality and embezzlement. So the National Income measure would rise a lot, but most people wouldn't be any better off.
Using multiple measures
- Because of the complexity of development, using lots of measures at the same time, or using a single measure like the HDI (which considers lots of different factors) is a good idea.
Test yourself on Limitations of Developing Measures
Which of these measures of development takes into account multiple aspects?
What aspects of development does the HDI take into account?
Why does using the human development index reduce the chance of a misleading statement about development?