Discussing Development
Table shows HDI (Human Development Index) ranges for Latin America and the Carribean. Source: UNDP (United Nations Development Programme). 2022. Human Development Report 2021-22: Uncertain Times, Unsettled Lives: Shaping our Future in a Transforming World. New York. What is Development? Development can be thought of as the mission to Improve well-being for all humans on Earth. Some goals of development are to increase access to clean water, enhance food security, enhance efficiency in industry, improve health, reduce inequality, develop better infrastructure, and reduce poverty, especially in the global south. Development is measured by several metrics including GDP (Gross Domestic Product), GNP (Gross National Product), GNI (Gross National Income), the Gini Coefficient, and HDI - Human Development Index. There are issues surrounding these traditional measurements however, and they don’t give us the whole picture of a country’s developmental state. For instance, with GDP, GNI, and GN