Measures of
Development

Correct: B. GDP per capita is a mean — it says nothing about distribution. A country with GDP/capita of $10,000 could have extreme inequality (a few billionaires and masses in poverty) or near-perfect equality. This is the most important limitation of GDP as a development measure. South Africa's GDP/capita of ~$6,500 is respectable for a developing country but its Gini coefficient of 0.63 (one of the world's highest) means much of the population lives in severe poverty.

Correct: B. The HDI specifically measures: (1) Health — life expectancy at birth; (2) Education — mean years of schooling (adults) and expected years of schooling (children); (3) Standard of living — GNI per capita (PPP). Developed by Mahbub ul Haq and Amartya Sen for UNDP in 1990. The idea was that human development goes beyond income — a long, educated, and decent-income life is the goal, not income alone.

Correct: B. Cuba is the classic example of high human development relative to income. The Cuban government prioritised universal free healthcare (doctors per capita rivals OECD countries) and free education to university level since 1959. Result: life expectancy ~79 years (close to UK); adult literacy ~99%; HDI 0.764 (high human development category). This shows that how income is allocated matters as much as the level — public services can substitute for private income.

Correct: C. The EU/UK standard definition: relative poverty = income below 60% of median national household income (after housing costs). In 2023, UK median household income ≈ £36,400 (before housing costs); 60% threshold = ~£21,840. About 22% of UK households (~14.4m people including 4.3m children) fall below this line. This definition links poverty to social norms — it's about being unable to participate in the typical life of your society, not just bare survival.

Correct: B. The IHDI applies an "inequality discount" to each of the three HDI dimensions. The more unequal the distribution of health, education, or income within a country, the larger the discount. South Africa's HDI (0.713) falls to IHDI 0.468 — a 34% loss due to extreme inequality in health, education, and income. Brazil loses ~30%. This makes IHDI a much better measure of average human development actually experienced across the population.

Correct: B. Richard Easterlin (1974) found: within a country at a given time, higher income correlates with higher self-reported happiness. But over time, as countries grow richer, average happiness doesn't rise proportionately. This suggests relative income (status, comparison) matters more than absolute income beyond a threshold. It supports using measures beyond GDP — wellbeing is about more than income, especially once basic needs are met. The World Happiness Report finds Finland consistently happiest, not the richest countries.

Correct: B. The MPI measures deprivation across 10 indicators in health (nutrition, child mortality), education (years of schooling, school attendance), and living standards (cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing, assets). Someone may have $2.15/day but lack clean water, adequate schooling, or healthcare — the income line misses this. Conversely, some may have income above the threshold but still be poor in other dimensions. The MPI gives a richer picture of poverty's nature and location.

Correct: C. The UN's 2023 SDG Progress Report was stark: only ~15% of targets on track; 37% showing moderate progress or stagnation; 48% seriously off-track or regressing. COVID-19 reversed years of progress on poverty, health, and education. Climate and biodiversity goals are furthest behind. The MDGs (2000–2015) were more successful partly because they were fewer, more focused, and had clearer targets. The breadth of the SDGs and inadequate financing make them harder to achieve.