The Pacific Realm:
Measures of Economic Development

The south Pacific is not the idyllic paradise of the movies or the tourist brochures. Use Table G-1 of your textbook [pameasur] [pacoumea] and the maps below to get an idea of how The Pacific Realm ranks economically among the world's realms [realmmea.htm].

You may want to review the measures of economic development lecture including the section on the Human Development Index [wwhdi].

1. GNP per capita [wbgnpmap.] [gnppctab.htm]
2. Population Growth [wrpopgr]
3. Occupational Structure of the Labor Force [wraglab]
4. Urbanization [wrurban]
5. Consumption per capita [wwenergy] [wwtv]
6. Infrastructure [wwtrans]
7. Social Conditions
   • literacy rate [wwlitrt]
   • life expectancy [wwlifexp]
   • health care
   • caloric intake
   • infant mortality [wwinfmrt]
   • other

What is the Human Development Index (HDI)?

We have indicated that even though GDP per capita is the most used indicator of development, there are some significant problems with it. Therefore, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) computes a Human Development Index (HDI) for each country each year. The human development index (HDI), composed of three indicators: life expectancy, education (adult literacy and combined secondary and tertiary school enrollment) and real GDP per capita.

To see the Human Development Index for individual countries go to: http://www.undp.org/hdr2001/indicator/indic_10_1_1.html

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