Inequality versus human development

The recently released United Nations Human Development Report (2014) is important not for the few positives it has been able to dig out through its extensive research but the stark inequality that it finds as a stumbling block to development of mankind across the globe. The widening gap between advanced and backward sections of the world population is largely because of the lack of effective and meaningful drive for developing human potential and resources by a majority of the countries.
The '2014 Human Development Report -- Sustaining Human Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience' is a revelation of growing poverty across the globe accompanied by vulnerabilities of all sorts, and hence what has been suggested in the report by way of strengthening resilience may only partly be relieving, given the overwhelming scale of the malady. Although there are tiny blips here and there, these do not at all lend enough prospects for a desirable improvement in the living standards and economic and social parameters of development.
The UNDP report, published annually since 1990, is intended to inform and influence policy makers. It cites exhaustive data to illustrate the status of nations in terms of various social and economic indicators, at individual country levels as well as on a global scale. Some of the abject findings of the report far outshine the positives that a number of countries, including Bangladesh, may consider satisfying, at least for the time being. The report informs all concerned that according to income-based measures of poverty, 1.2 billion people of the world live with $1.25 or less a day. This is coupled with the finding (UNDP Multidimensional Poverty Index) that almost 1.5 billion people in 91 developing countries are living in poverty with overlapping deprivations in health, education and living standards. And although there is an overall decline in poverty, almost 800 million people are at the risk of falling back into poverty if setbacks occur.
The report also notes that the situation at the global level is critically affected by natural disasters, political instability, misguided government policies and flawed implementation, influencing improvements in life spans, education and incomes. The result is: we live in a world where the 85 richest people have as much wealth as that of the 3.5 billion poorest people, the report says. However it does take into account the progress, though slow, in many countries in the developing world. Most people in most of these countries are doing better than before, thanks to advances in education, technology and incomes. But it also observes a 'widespread sense of precariousness in the world today in livelihoods, the environment, personal security and politics.' Nearly half of the global workers, the report states, are 'in insecure or informal employment while some 842 million, or about 12 per cent, of all people go hungry'.
Authors of the report warn that improvements in longevity, education and income -- the three main components of the UNDP's index of human development -- are slowing due to worsening inequality and economic disruptions, to droughts and other natural disasters and to poor government policies. Although the UN agency in its report has suggested measures, the task to put those in place is complicated, if not outright daunting. And what is there so unique to suggest by way of a prescription?
With nearly a third of humanity vulnerable to poverty, it is obvious that governments need to attach higher priority to education, job creation and basic social services. The report reflects the growing conviction among many in global policymaking and poverty alleviation that the gains made in the late 20th century risk being eroded by climate change, a global 'race to the bottom' by big corporations that is forcing more and more workers to live on less and government budgets 'balanced on the backs of the poor,' comments Khalid Malik, a lead author of the report.
The report ranks Norway at the top of the Human Development Index, followed by Australia, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United States. Among Asian countries, Singapore leads at No. 9, followed by Hong Kong and South Korea at 15. As for Bangladesh, the apparent sense of complacency reflected in the media and in the statements of government spokespersons may only serve to assuage the fear that has been looming on the country's economy for sometime.
The comparison with other neighbouring countries, even big neighbours, in certain important social indicators such as gender inequality, multi-dimensional poverty index must not take the policy makers' focus away from the basics that are still ill-placed. These, as the UNDP report suggests, includes income support, job creation, equitable access to health, education and other services. In other words, these form the key investments in human capital in order to attain secure and sustainable growth in the long run.
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