Simplifying Complexity: Why Do We Need Indicators? -- Indicators and league tables -- Modernist development -- Modernization to dependency -- Neopopulism, neoliberalism and anti-development -- Sustainable development -- Indicators of development -- Development Indicators: Economics -- Economic activity: The Gross Domestic Product -- Problems with the Gross Domestic Product -- Gross National Product and other indicators -- Gross Domestic Product and consumption -- Development Indicators: Poverty -- Headcount Ratio -- Income Gap Ratio -- Poverty Gap Index -- Income inequality -- Integrating Development Indicators -- Human development -- Birth of the Human Development Index -- Calculating the Human Development Index -- The 'HDI' family of human development indices -- Critiques of the Human Development Index -- The Precarious Art of Simplifying Complexity -- Indicators of sustainable development -- Environmental Sustainability Index -- Corruption and human development -- Taking Care with Development Indicators -- Is the Human Development Index used by anyone? -- Interpreting indices: Over-reduction? -- Development indices and policy -- A Comparative Indicatorology -- Some meetings in Italy -- People's indicators -- Sense, fondness or obsession? -- Factor analysis: a brief introduction
Summary
Statistics persuade, convince, confirm, but can also mislead, & when decisions about development are being taken, this may lead to disaster. Stephen Morse considers the problems caused by our 'unhealthy obsession with numbers' & suggests ways in which the accuracy of indices & indicators can be improved
