CHAPTER 3: HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Gist of the Lesson & Question Bank
1. Core Concepts of Growth & Development
Growth: It is quantitative and value-neutral. It represents a change in size or numbers over
time and may be either positive or negative.
Development: It signifies a qualitative change which is always value-positive. Development
occurs when there is a positive increment or enhancement in existing conditions.
Concept of Human Development: Introduced by Dr. Mahbub-ul-Haq. Human development is
defined as a process of enlarging people's choices and raising the level of their well-being,
enabling them to lead long, healthy, and meaningful lives.
A meaningful life is not just long; it must be a life with some purpose. People must be healthy,
develop their talents, participate actively in society, and be free to achieve their goals.
2. The Four Pillars of Human Development
Just as any building is supported by pillars, human development is supported by four essential
concepts:
• Equity: Making equal opportunities available to everybody irrespective of their gender, race,
income, or caste. (For example, in the context of India, dropout rates from schools are noticeably
higher among women and low-caste communities due to historic disparities).
• Sustainability: Ensuring continuity in the availability of resources and opportunities. Each
generation must inherit a world with sufficient opportunities, ensuring that resource usage
does not compromise future prospects.
• Productivity: Refers to human labor productivity or productivity in terms of human work. It
must be constantly enriched by building capabilities, improving health knowledge, and
enhancing skills in people.
• Empowerment: Having the power to make choices. This autonomy comes from increasing
freedom and capability, supported by good governance, democratic institutional strength, and
people-oriented government policies.
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3. Approaches to Human Development
Various indicators and frameworks look at human progression through distinct lenses:
• Income Approach: One of the oldest methods of looking at development. It links the level of
development directly to income; higher income levels imply a greater level of human
development.
• Welfare Approach: Looks at human beings as beneficiaries or targets of all development
activities. It argues for higher government expenditure on education, health, and other public
amenities.
• Basic Needs Approach: Emphasized and introduced by the International Labour Organisation
(ILO). It focuses on the provision of six basic needs:
▪ Health
▪ Education
▪ Food
▪ Water Supply
▪ Sanitation
▪ Housing
• Capability Approach: Closely associated with Prof. Amartya Sen. It focuses on building human
capabilities in the areas of health and education as the primary key to increasing freedom and
choices.
4. International Comparisons
The physical size of a country and its per-capita income are not directly related to its level of
human development. Relatively smaller nations often outperform larger economies; for instance,
Sri Lanka and Trinidad and Tobago have higher ranks in human development indexes than
India.
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX (HDI) CLASSIFICATIONS
Countries are classified into four distinct groups based on their HDI scores (according to the
Human Development Report 2018):
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GROUP OF HDI HDI SCORE RANGE NUMBER OF COUNTRIES (HDR 2018)
Very High Above 0.800 59
High 0.701 – 0.799 53
Medium 0.550 – 0.700 39
Low Below 0.549 38
5. Important Question Bank
THREE MARKS QUESTIONS
Q1. Name four countries having a high human development index. Discuss three reasons for
a high human development index.
Four countries with high HDI: 1. Norway, 2. Australia, 3. Netherlands, 4. U.S.A.
Reasons for high HDI:
• Social Sector Investment: These countries invest heavily in the social sector, particularly
public education and healthcare systems.
• Good Governance: Transparent, effective, and people-oriented governance practices ensure
optimal utilization of resources.
• Political Stability: They are generally free from political turmoil, domestic instability, and civil
unrest, creating an environment safe for sustainable progress.
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Q2. Name any four countries having a low human development index. Discuss three reasons
for a low human development index.
Four countries with low HDI: 1. Democratic Republic of Congo, 2. Nigeria, 3. Burundi, 4.
Mozambique.
Reasons for low HDI:
• Political Turmoil: Frequent breakdowns of institutional mechanisms and regimes hinder
steady welfare planning.
• Social Instability: Internal conflicts and civil wars disrupt social infrastructure and threaten
personal freedoms.
• Famine and Epidemics: Acute food insecurity along with a high incidence of chronic diseases
drastically decreases life expectancy.
Q3. Discuss in detail about the alternative view of development given by Dr. Mahbub-ul-Haq
and Prof. Amartya Sen.
For many decades, a country's level of development was measured exclusively in terms of its
economic growth. The paradigm shift emphasizing that the quality of life, accessible
opportunities, and choices matter most is credited to the path-breaking works of Dr. Mahbub-ul-
Haq and Prof. Amartya Sen. They succeeded in placing people at the center of all developmental
discourse.
• Dr. Mahbub-ul-Haq's View: Development is entirely about expanding people's choices to lead
long, healthy lives with dignity. The ultimate objective is to establish favorable conditions
where human beings can lead purposeful and meaningful lives.
• Prof. Amartya Sen's View: He conceptualized development as an increase in freedom or a
corresponding decrease in 'unfreedom'. Enhancing freedom and capability is both the
primary goal and the chief vehicle of comprehensive development.
FIVE MARKS QUESTIONS
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Q1. Define human development. What is the basic goal of human development? Explain with
examples the four pillars of human development.
Definition: Human development is a dynamic process of widening the range of people's choices,
expanding their opportunities for education, health care, income, and empowerment. It covers
the complete spectrum of human choices ranging from a sound physical environment to
economic, social, and political freedoms.
Basic Goal: The fundamental goal of human development is to build enabling environments and
conditions where people can live long, healthy, and meaningful lives.
The Four Pillars Explained:
• Equity: It refers to providing equal access to opportunities available to everybody without any
bias toward gender, race, income, or caste. Example: High school dropout rates among lower
castes and women in India highlight a deficit in equity that needs targeted interventions.
• Sustainability: This means continuity in the availability of developmental opportunities
across generations. Example: Over-exploitation or degradation of environmental resources
restricts the choices of future generations.
• Productivity: This refers to human labor productivity in terms of work. It is enhanced by
continuously building capacities. Example: Providing structural skill-training programs and
medical benefits to workers increases their overall output quality.
• Empowerment: It stands for having the necessary agency and institutional power to make
choices. Example: Introducing democratic governance systems and people-centric policies that
empower vulnerable socio-economic groups to participate in decision-making.
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