Human development and social inclusion

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Human development and social inclusion

• Overlaps and complementarities
• Andrey Ivanov, Podgorica, 13 October 2009

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The essence of HD concept

• An approach to development, which puts people at
  the centre of development process
• A process of widening people's choices and the
  level of their achieved well-being through
• Extension of human capabilities (such as improved
  health or knowledge)
• The utilization of the acquired capabilities for
  productive and meaningful life.

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Basic assumptions

• The true wealth of a country is its people
• There are not developed and underdeveloped
  countries, but developed and underdeveloped
  people
• The best strategy to increase national income is
  not to accumulate capital, but to develop people
• It assumes that apart from wealth and money,
• Extending peoples choices and freedoms is key
• Increasing and focusing on human capabilities is
  crucial
• A number of three major areas of peoples life
  are crucial
• To enjoy long and healthy life
• To have access to knowledge and
• To have access to resources necessary for decent
  standard of living

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Major areas of HD

• Poverty
• Education
• Health
• Housing
• Participation and access to information
• Human rights
• Personal security
• Environmental status
• Three areas of HD are measurable but not all,
  which doesnt make the other less important

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Approximating human development

• Human Development can be approximated and its
  measure is not just monitoring wealth
• HD is broader than HDI
• HDI is a composite index measuring progress in
  major areas of HD but not all
• Same values of the index can be reached in
  variety of ways opportunity cost of policy
  options

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HDI components

• Education
• Literacy rate (2/3)
• Enrollment rate (1/3)
• Health and longevity reflected in life
  expectancy
• Standard of living reflected in GDP per capita
  in PPP
• Various attempts to add additional components
  but they reduce the index reliability and
  international comparability

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But HDI is far from perfect

• Changes in the methodology
• Update of statistics and changes in rankings
• Differences between national and international
  estimates
• Most dramatic changes in rankings
• Some winners France 3 Latvia 2 Slovakia 2
• Some losers Iceland (first in 2007 GHDR) -3
  Malta -3 Hungary -2 Bulgaria -2
• But still it is better as a measurement of
  societies progress than GDP

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Social inclusion - definition

• Process which ensures that those at risk of
  poverty and social exclusion gain the
  opportunities and resources necessary to
  participate fully in economic, social and
  cultural life and to enjoy a standard of living
  and well-being that is considered normal in the
  society in which they live". Thus, social
  inclusion is understood as both
• a relative concept where exclusion can only be
  judged by comparing the circumstances of some
  individuals (or groups or communities) relative
  to others and
• a normative concept which places emphasis on the
  individual's right of "having a life associated
  with being a member of a community

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Similarities between HD and SI

• Both HD and SI are
• people-focused and address issues of
  marginalization and exclusion
• go beyond material well-being
• are related to the change of paradigm after the
  end of the Cold War
• social exclusion can be understood as
  'capability' deprivation that goes beyond income
  deprivation
• it is difficult for a country to claim high
  levels of human development if social exclusion
  persists

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Complementarities

• human development bearing stronger focus on
  "what" needs to be achieved
• social inclusion on "how" social exclusion should
  be avoided
• Both have monitoring frameworks albeit
  different in terms of enforceability (Laeken and
  MDGs)

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A closer look at measurements

• HD is more quantitative mix of inputs and outcome
• SI and SE monitoring combines qualitative and
  quantitative measures
• both put strong focus on poverty, employment,
  education, health and civic and political
  participation
• SE emphasizes inequality measures (HDI will
  follow suit in 2010)
• Both frameworks need to go beyond national
  averages to be policy relevant

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NHDRs on social exclusion

• Manifestation of convergence of both HD and SI
  concepts
• Open new grounds in regards policy analysis
• Provide opportunities for conceptual
  cross-fertilization
• Reflect real live (no framework is one and only
  relevant)