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Engendering Human Development: A Critique of the UNDP’s Gender-Related Development Index

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  • Elizabeth Stanton

Abstract

This article reviews the literature critiquing the United Nations Development Programme’s Gender-related Development Index (GDI), which is a measure of human development penalized for the extent of gender inequality in each country; presents several original critiques of GDI; and presents proposed corrections to the GDI in response to both received and original critiques. Elizabeth Stanton is a researcher at the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University.

Suggested Citation

  • Elizabeth Stanton, 2007. "Engendering Human Development: A Critique of the UNDP’s Gender-Related Development Index," Working Papers wp131, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
    • Handle: RePEc:uma:periwp:wp131
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Vegard Iversen, 2003. "Intra-Household Inequality: A Challenge For The Capability Approach?," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(2-3), pages 93-115.
    2. Sudhir Anand & Amartya Sen, 2000. "The Income Component of the Human Development Index," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 1(1), pages 83-106.
    3. Sudhir Anand and Amartya Sen, 2000. "The Income Component of Human Development Index," Human Development Occasional Papers (1992-2007) HDOCPA-2000-01, Human Development Report Office (HDRO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
    4. Ravi Kanbur & Diganta Mukherjee, 2007. "Premature Mortality And Poverty Measurement," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(4), pages 339-359, October.
    5. Sara Cantillon & Brian Nolan, 2001. "Poverty Within Households: Measuring Gender Differences Using Nonmonetary Indicators," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(1), pages 5-23.
    6. A. Geske Dijkstra & Lucia Hanmer, 2000. "Measuring Socio-Economic GENDER Inequality: Toward an Alternative to the UNDP Gender-Related Development Index," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(2), pages 41-75.
    7. Carola Grün & Stephan Klasen, 2003. "Growth, Inequality and Well-Being: Comparisons across Space and Time," Ibero America Institute for Econ. Research (IAI) Discussion Papers 094, Ibero-America Institute for Economic Research.
    8. Nancy Folbre, 2006. "Measuring Care: Gender, Empowerment, and the Care Economy," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(2), pages 183-199.
    9. Stephan Klasen, 2006. "UNDP's Gender-related Measures: Some Conceptual Problems and Possible Solutions," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(2), pages 243-274.
    10. Siobhan Austen & Therese Jefferson & Vicki Thein, 2003. "Gendered Social Indicators and Grounded Theory," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1), pages 1-18.
    11. Jacques Charmes & Saskia Wieringa, 2003. "Measuring Women's Empowerment: An assessment of the Gender-related Development Index and the Gender Empowerment Measure," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(3), pages 419-435.
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    Cited by:

    1. Lucia Bartùsková & Karina Kubelková, 2014. "Main Challanges in Measuring Gender Inequality," Proceedings of FIKUSZ '14, in: Pál Michelberger (ed.),Proceedings of FIKUSZ '14, pages 19-28, Óbuda University, Keleti Faculty of Business and Management.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender-related Development Index; GDI; human development; gender disparities;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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