The HDI is a composite measurement which
includes real GDP per capita at ppps, life expectancy, adult literacy and years
of schooling in a weighted format. This reflects the standard of living,
longevity and knowledge. The components are combined to give a single value between
0 and 1. The HDI can be adjusted to take into account income distribution and
can be disaggregated for individual groups of regions. In these ways it
improves on GDP, gives a simple comparison and reflects important elements of
development. It is open to criticisms for the continuing omissions e.g. access
to clean water and the elements which it is unable to measure e.g. political
freedom. It has its own issues such as the equal weighting of the components
and the difficulty in measuring quality as opposed to quantity. Other measures
such as the HPI and MEW may be alternatives.
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