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An Economic Development Index

Author

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  • Alvaro Montenegro

    (Universidad Javeriana)

Abstract

There is no consensus about which variables, apart from income per capita, serve to characterize or define economic development, or guide its teaching. This paper proposes a simple and operational definition that combines the level of income per capita and the distribution of income. An economic development index is then constructed and used to rank a sample of countries from the well-known Deininger and Squire database. The results differ, significantly in some cases, from rankings produced by the United Nations' Human Development Index and the GDP per capita.

Suggested Citation

  • Alvaro Montenegro, 2004. "An Economic Development Index," Development and Comp Systems 0404010, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwpdc:0404010
    Note: Type of Document - doc; pages: 23. Microsoft Word 2000
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robert J. Barro, 1999. "Inequality, Growth, and Investment," NBER Working Papers 7038, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Alberto Alesina & Dani Rodrik, 1994. "Distributive Politics and Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(2), pages 465-490.
    3. Deininger, K & Squire, L, 1996. "Measuring Income Inequality : A New Data-Base," Papers 537, Harvard - Institute for International Development.
    4. Deininger, Klaus & Olinto, Pedro, 2000. "Asset distribution, inequality, and growth," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2375, The World Bank.
    5. Persson, Torsten & Tabellini, Guido, 1994. "Is Inequality Harmful for Growth?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(3), pages 600-621, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Pendergast, Shannon M. & Clarke, Judith A. & van Kooten, G. Cornelis, 2008. "Corruption, Development and the Curse of Natural Resources," Working Papers 37913, University of Victoria, Resource Economics and Policy.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    economic development; indices; income distribution; HDI;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General

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