Since 1990, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has ranked the world
ID: 1142145 • Letter: S
Question
Since 1990, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has ranked the world’s “most desirable places to live.” The rankings are based on a Human Development Index (HDI), which includes national measures of life expectancy at birth, mean years of schooling, expected years of schooling, and per capita GDP. In 2012, the five nations that scored the highest HDI values were: (1) Norway, (2) Australia, (3) the United States, (4), The Netherlands, and (5) Germany.
Question: If you were asked to make your own list of the best places to live, how important would a country’s per capita real GDP be as a criterion? What other factors would you consider in making your list?
Explanation / Answer
Per capita real GDP is an important indicator of economic prosperity and standard of living in a country. Countries with a higher GDP per capitaare also found to have better availability of a range of goods apart from having better infrastructure and sanitation facilities. For instance, countries with a higher per capita income also have fewer power cut and water shortage problems. Moreover, higher per capita incomes are often associated with better job opportunities in the country. These considerations make real per capita GDP an important factor for choosing a country to live. However, it is not the only determinant of development in a country. For instance, some Middle Eastern countries have strict gender biased laws and some countries have corporal punishment laws. So, even if such countries have a relatively high per capita GDP these draconian laws make them a bad option for living. Other factors while choosing a country for living include availability of good quality and low cost higher educational institutions and good healthcare systems. Lack of political turmoil, salubrious weather, low crime rates and low occurance of natural disasters are important considerations. There are countries like Bhutan with low per capita GDP but high index of happiness. The country may not be a hub of opportunities but if I want to lead a peaceful and contended life, it may be the place to head for. Countries like the USA have very high per capita GDP but have less welfare policies and poor work life balance. The burden of wiining the rat race and living upto the expectations of an upwardly mobile society maybe seen as a drawback by some while it may be a great opportunity for many. So, taking all these factors into consideration we must do a cost benefit analysis based on the pros and cons of each country and choose the country that best suits our interests.