Question

write a note on the human development report published by undp . how is it different from the report published by the world bank

Answer 1

The Human Development Report (HDR) is an annual milestone published by the Human Development Report Office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

As of 2013 the last decade saw convergence in human development indicators (HDI) values globally, although progress was uneven within and between regions. Developing countries' transformation into major economies with growing political influence has impacted human development progress.

Projections in the 2013 report suggested that by 2020 the combined economic output of three leading developing countries alone—Brazil, China and India—will surpass the aggregate production of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States.

This shift has related to trade and technology partnerships between emerging economies.
However economic growth does not automatically translate into human development progress, so reports have highlighted the need for pro-poor policies and investments in capacity building with a focus on education, nutrition, health and employment skills.

The 2013 report identified four areas of focus for sustainable development:

enhancing equity, including on the gender dimension;
enabling greater voice and participation of citizens, including youth;
confronting environmental pressures; and
managing demographic change.
It also critiqued global governance and outdated institutions that do not reflect economic and geopolitical reality.

The report was first launched in 1990 by the Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq and Indian Nobel laureate Amartya Sen. Its goal was to place people at the center of the development process in terms of economic debate, policy and advocacy. Development was characterized by the provision of choices and freedoms resulting in widespread outcomes.

“People are the real wealth of a nation,” Haq wrote in the opening lines of the first report in 1990. “The basic objective of development is to create an enabling environment for people to enjoy long, healthy and creative lives. This may appear to be a simple truth. But it is often forgotten in the immediate concern with the accumulation of commodities and financial wealth.”

The United Nations General Assembly has formally recognized the Report as “an independent intellectual exercise” and “an important tool for raising awareness about human development around the world.”

The Human Development Report is an independent report, commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and is the product of a selected team of leading scholars, development practitioners and members of the Human Development Report Office of UNDP. It is a report independent of the Administrator of the UNDP, as suggested by ul Haq.[5] It is translated into numerous languages and launched in more than 100 countries annually.

Since 1990, more than 140 countries have published some 600 national Human Development Reports, with UNDP support. UNDP has also sponsored scores of regional reports, such as the ten-volume Arab Human Development Report series, which have made internationally recognized contributions to the global dialogue on democracy, women’s rights, inequality, poverty eradication and other critical issues.

The 2010 Human Development Report’s review of human development trends showed that most developing countries made dramatic yet often underestimated progress in health, education and basic living standards since 1970 with many of the poorest countries posting the greatest gains.

In the 2010 Report, the Sultanate of Oman was reported to be the most improved country in the past 40 years out of the 135 countries assessed (the report reported on improvement in the period 1970-2010). Oman's strides in education, women empowerment and health care under the patronage of the current Sultan of Oman led to it securing the 1st position.

Several new indices have been introduced over the years in different reports, including the Human Development Index, the Gender-related Development Index, the Gender Empowerment Measure, the Human Poverty Index.[4] The Gender-related Development Index, the Gender Empowerment Measure and the Human Poverty Index were removed in 2010. The 2010 Human Development Report introduced three new indices the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the Gender Inequality Index, and the Multidimensional Poverty Index. Each Report has its own focus drawn from contemporary debate.

The 2009 Human Development Report, Overcoming Barriers, focused on migration - both within and beyond borders. It was chosen because it is a prominent theme in domestic and international debates. Its starting point is that the global distribution of capabilities is extraordinarily unequal, and that this is a major driver for movement of people.