The human development index: a response to Klugman, Rodriguez and Choi

Each year, the mass media and many governments look keenly at the country rankings by the Human Development Index (HDI), as published in the annual Human Development Reports (HDR). Klugman, Rodriguez and Choi (KRC) were members of the team that produced the 20th anniversary edition of the HDR (United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 2010) which introduced a new version of this popular index. However, Ravallion (2010) argued that the new HDI has a number of undesirable features, some shared with the old index and some new. This note responds to the points made by KRC (J Econ Inequality 9(2):249–288, 2011) in their defense of the new HDI.¹     

Gambling Related Cognitions Mediate the Association Between Thinking Style and Problem Gambling Severity

This study examined the associations among thinking style (rational versus experiential), gambling related cognitions, and problem gambling severity. The participants were 70 female and 41 male regular gamblers who completed the Gambling Related Cognitions Scale (Raylu and Oei, Addiction 99:757–769, 2004), the Rational-Experiential Inventory (Pacini and Epstien, J Pers Soc Psychol 76(6):972–987, 1999), and the Problem Gambling Severity Index (Ferris and Wynne, The Canadian problem and gambling index: final report. Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, Ottawa, 2001). Rational thinking was negatively related to problem gambling severity. Gambling related biases increased with problem gambling severity but the strength of those biases was dampened by rational thought. The patterns by which gambling related cognition mediated the association between thinking style and gambling severity suggest that therapeutic interventions may benefit from a consideration of a gambler’s thinking style.     

Facial Behavior While Experiencing Sexual Excitement

We analyzed the facial behavior of 100 volunteers who video-recorded their own expressions while experiencing an episode of sexual excitement that concluded in an orgasm, and then posted their video clip on an Internet site. Four distinct observational periods from the video clips were analyzed and coded by FACS (Facial Action Coding System, Ekman and Friesen 1978). We found nine combinations of muscular movements produced by at least 5% of the senders. These combinations were consistent with facial expressions of sexual excitement described by Masters and Johnson (Human sexual response, 1966), and they included the four muscular movements of the core expression of pain (Prkachin, Pain, 51, 297–306, 1992).     

Social trust and human development

A series of studies connect social trust to economic growth. In this paper, we explore the connection between trust and a broader measure of development, the UN Human Development Index. We find that trust is significantly associated with faster human development in the 1980–2005 period. The impact of trust occurs mainly in less democratic countries.     

Psychometric Evaluation of the Problem Gambling Severity Index-Chinese Version (PGSI-C)

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Chinese 9-item Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) derived from the 31-item Canadian Problem Gambling Index (CPGI) originally developed by Ferris and Wynne (2001). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA; n = 386; Group A data) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; n = 387; Group B data) on the Chinese student and community data (Mean age = 25.36 years) showed that a unifactorial model fitted the data with good reliability score (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.77). The concurrent validity of the PGSI-C was good in terms of the Chinese data matching the expected correlation between PGSI-C and other variables or scales such as SOGS, gambling frequency, gambling urge, gambling cognitions, depression, anxiety, and stress. The scale also reported good discriminant and predictive validity. In sum, the PGSI-C has good psychometric properties and can be used among Chinese communities to identify at-risk problem gamblers. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Safe Motherhood in the Context of Nepal

ABSTRACT

Nepal ranks low on the Human Development Index and has a high maternal mortality rate. Various factors contribute to the high rate of maternal mortality and include a shortage of health care professionals, limited access to basic maternal health care, poverty, illiteracy, women's low social status, a poorly developed transportation system, a limited communication system, political conflict, and a diverse population. Interviews with pregnant women, observational data, and national statistics provide the basis for suggestions provided by the author. These include upgrading and opening new maternal care facilities, integrating midwives into local health services, providing education on women's health needs during pregnancy, and improving public awareness of the availability of maternal care services.     

Human development and the optimal size of government

Previous studies have found evidence for an optimal size of government with respect to GDP growth. In this paper, I look at the impact of the size of government consumption expenditures on social welfare as measured by the Human Development Index. Utilizing dynamic GMM estimation in a panel data framework, I find that evidence for an optimal size of government with respect to social welfare.     

Development and Psychometric Evaluation of a 10-Item Short Form Inventory of Gambling Situations

The Inventory of Gambling Situations (IGS-63; Turner and Littman-Sharp, Inventory of gambling situations users guide, 2006) is a 63-item measure of high-risk gambling situations. It assesses gambling across 10 situational subscales that load onto two higher-order factors: negative and positive situations (Stewart et al. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 22:257–268, 2008). While the IGS-63 has excellent psychometric properties (Littman-Sharp et al., The Inventory of Gambling Situations: Reliability, factor structure, and validity (IGS Technical Manual), in press) its length may preclude its use in time-limited contexts. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a 10-item short-form of the IGS (IGS-10). Each IGS-10 item reflects one of the ten subscale categories from the IGS-63, with two items from the original subscales included as examples for each IGS-10 item. The IGS-10 was administered to 180 undergraduate gamblers along with the IGS-63 and the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI; Ferris and Wynne, Canadian Problem Gambling Index: Final report, 2001). IGS-10 items showed convergent validity with the corresponding IGS-63 subscales (r’s = .60–.73). Principal components analysis of the IGS-10 revealed two factors: negative (α = .84) and positive (α = .85). PGSI scores correlated significantly with all IGS-10 items (r’s = .33–.58) and with both IGS-10 higher-order subscales (r’s = .66 [negative] and .49 [positive]), supporting the criterion validity of the IGS-10. Since minimal information is lost when using the IGS-10, the short form may prove particularly useful when respondent burden prevents using the full IGS-63.     

Validation of the Consumption Screen for Problem Gambling (CSPG)

A 3 item screen for problem gambling was developed based on a conceptual analogue of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test—Consumption (Bush et al. in Arch Intern Med 158:1789–1795, 1998); a brief screen that measures consumption rather than harm. Data were collected from an email panel survey of 588 men and 810 women (n = 1,398) across all states in Australia. Respondents indicated their consumption of gambling products using the 3 items of the new Consumption Screen for Problem Gambling (CSPG). Receiver Operating Characteristics curve analysis was used to analyze the performance of the new items relative to the Problem Gambling Severity Index (Ferris and Wynne in The Canadian problem gambling index: Final report, 2001). Results show a 98% probability that the CSPG score for a randomly chosen positive case of problem gambling will exceed the score for a randomly chosen negative case. In addition, a score of 4+ on the CSPG identified all 14 cases of Problem Gambling correctly, while only 7.3% of non-problem gamblers had scores of 4+ (sensitivity = 100%; specificity = 92.7%). Lastly, only 3.0% of respondents without any gambling problems had CSPG scores of 4+. The current study suggests that the CSPG, a brief consumption-based measure for gambling products, can quickly and accurately identify people who are likely to be experiencing gambling problems.     

A panel data analysis of the impact of trade on human development

Arguments for a positive link between trade and per-capita income are often met with the counterargument that “there is more to life than income”—the implication being that trade improves income, but degrades “quality of life.” In this paper, we attempt to address this counterargument by examining the impact of trade on countries’ social developments as measured by the Human Development Index (HDI)—a composite measure of education, literacy, and income published by the United Nations Development Programme. Utilizing a generalized method of moments (GMM) procedure in a panel data framework, we find that increases in trade are positively associated with future increases in social welfare.     

Mahjong Gambling in the Chinese-Australian Community in Sydney: A Prevalence Study

Mahjong is a popular gambling game played in Chinese communities all over the world (Papineau, China Perspect 28:29–42, 2000) and is sometimes referred to as ‘国赌’ (guodu, the Chinese national gambling game) or ‘修长城’ (xiu changcheng, repairing the Great Wall). Exploratory studies using snowball sampling conducted by Zheng et al. (J Psychol Chin Soc 9(2):241–262, 2008) indicated that Mahjong is not only a popular pastime within the Sydney Chinese community but also problematic for around 3% of players. The current study aimed to extend earlier studies by estimating the prevalence of Mahjong problem gambling in a random sample of Sydney Chinese community members. In addition, due to first-hand gambling experience of the first author with superstitious Mahjong players, the study also investigated the role of superstitious beliefs in Mahjong gambling. The current study involved a series of self-report questionnaires administered to 469 randomly selected Chinese Australians in Sydney. The problem gambling rate, assessed by the Canadian Problem Gambling Index (CPGI), was 3.8%, with Chinese males and older Chinese prominent. Superstitious beliefs were found to play a part in the maintenance of Mahjong gambling behaviour. Information stemming from the current study has helped gain insight into culturally specific forms of gambling, and to identify correlates of problem gamblers. Funding bodies and counselling services should be aware of the existence of this form of gambling, and should devise appropriate treatment plans for Mahjong problem gamblers.     

Making the Human Development Index (HDI) gender-sensitive

The Human Development Index (HDI), introduced in 1990 by the UN Development Program, offers an alternative to the gross national product and consumer utility in its ability to measure relative socioeconomic progress over time and identify priorities for policy intervention. On the other hand, as an overall development index, the HDI is unable to reveal disparities based on gender, race, social class, and region. Its failure to incorporate disaggregated variables has impeded government awareness that particular subgroups experience very different levels of socioeconomic development concealed by the HDI. Only when the HDI is more gender-sensitive will it be an accurate measure of human development. The creators of the HDI are urged to ensure that their data base of critical measures such as employment, income, mortality, education, consumption, and housing are disaggregated by sex. Moreover, models should assign an economic value to women's unpaid domestic labor as well as their underpaid, under-reported work in the formal and informal sectors.     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed in this article: Human Development Report 2006: Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty and the Global Water Crisis. By the United Nations Development Programme. Does Foreign Aid Really Work? By Roger Riddell. Human Security and the UN: A Critical History. By S. Neil MacFarlane and Yuen Foong Khong. Europe and its Immigrants in the 21st Century: A New Deal or a Continuing Dialogue of the Deaf? Edited by Demetrios G. Papademetriou. Immigration and America's Future: A New Chapter. By Doris Meissner, Deborah W. Meyers, Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Michael Fix. Fifty Key Thinkers on Development. Edited by David Simon. The Elgar Companion to Development Studies. Edited by David Alexander Clark.     

Spatial approaches to measure subnational inequality: Implications for Sustainable Development Goals

The United Nations expressed an interest in reducing subnational (i.e., province and state level) inequality. We propose using a spatial decomposition of the Gini coefficient (SDGC) to track changes in subnational inequality. Typically, agencies do not track summary measures of subnational clustering of development indicators. Tracking changes in the SDGC can help measure and reduce regional inequality. To illustrate the use of the SDGC, we first present data for 93 nations to obtain cross‐sectional variation. Next, to illustrate how the SDGC trends over time, changes in the Human Development Index in Mongolia are compared to Russia and China. The SDGC can show improvement, decline and persistent clustering of subnational level inequality. The SDGC is a useful measure for the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.     

The Real Origins of the Global Crisis

In this paper we present an interpretation of the economic and financial crisis that considers crucial the issue of income distribution (Krugman 2007; Piketty and Saez 2003; Reynolds 2008), a question that is instead ignored by more widespread interpretations. In fact, we ask what lies behind the disaster of the subprime loans and, if a more thorough view is taken, it seems clear that the true causes of the crisis lead back to income distribution, in other words the enormous increase in the gap between rich and poor. This consideration is fundamental. If the crisis were merely financial then (perhaps) the policies of financial adjustment that are currently in place might be sufficient. If instead the crisis is due to more serious causes, and nothing is more serious than distribution inequalities, then the cure must be much more profound (and difficult). In other words, the crisis will be long and severe until such inequalities are reduced, a difficult task when weighed against public intervention in aid of financial institutions.     

Developing Differences: Gender,Childhood and Economic Development

SUMMARY: Western images of the child in modern thought set up an opposition between innocence and experience which is supplemented by discourses of child care and child protection, and reflected in international policies and legislation for children. This article traces idealised conceptions of children of the North and South and unravels dichotomies between work and play as they map onto gendered and cultural spaces. These issues are linked to an analysis of assumptions underlying both international policies for child development and models of economic development, focusing in particular on the Human Development Index put forward in the 1992 United Nations Development Programme. In order to counter the naturalisation and abstraction of development in both, which reflects and contributes to the cultural and economic domination of the Northern hemisphere over the South, the article ends with a call to attend to both the specificity and diversity of children's developments.     

Economic Development,Human Rights - and the Omelette Thesis

People Matter — Views on International Human Rights Policy. By Theo van Boven, collected and introduced by Hans Thoolen. Amsterdam: Meulenhoff, 1982. 186pp. Development, Human Rights and the Rule of Law: Report of a Conference held in The Hague, 27 April-1 May 1981, convened by the International Commission of Jurists. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1982. 237pp.     

Sociology’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">Suicide</Emphasis>: A Forensic Autopsy?

For decades Durkheim’s theory of suicide has been tested and found wanting. Yet, rather than being consigned to the dust-bin of history, it lives on and is pointed to as an exemplar of the powers of sociological theory and research. If this rationalizing and/or dismissal of so many falsifications of the theory were an isolated phenomenon, it might be evidence of some lemming-like propensity for suicide or a disciplinary death-wish, among a few sociologists. But it appears to be a much more widespread and common occurrence. In this paper we explore some possible explanations of this ‘falsification denial’—‘The Social Misconstruction of Reality’ (Hamilton 1996), ‘When Prophecy Fails’ (Festinger et al. 1956), ‘Underdetermination’ (Duhem 1954; Quine Journal of Philosophy 67:178–183, 1970, Erkenntnis 9:313–328, 1975; Lakatos 1970), and ‘Boundary Maintenance’ (Erikson 1966), and we outline some of the more important and pernicious consequences of this falsification denial for the discipline and future of sociology.     

On the selection of the same winner by all scoring rules

Different scoring rules can result in the selection of any of the k competing candidates, given the same preference profile, (Saari DG 2001, Chaotic elections! A mathematician looks at voting. American Mathematical Society, Providence, R.I.). It is also possible that a candidate, and even a Condorcet winning candidate, cannot be selected by any scoring rule, (Saari DG 2000 Econ Theory 15:55–101). These findings are balanced by Saari’s result (Saari DG 1992 Soc Choice Welf 9(4):277–306) that specifies the necessary and sufficient condition for the selection of the same candidate by all scoring rules. This condition is, however, indirect. We provide a sufficient condition that is stated directly in terms of the preference profile; therefore, its testability does not require the verdict of any voting rule.     

The Value of Hate in the Countertransference

The author looks at the experience of hate in the countertransference and develops the idea that hate can be of particular value to the treatment process. He begins with an exploration of the therapist’s needs and discusses how unmet self-regulatory needs sometimes lead to feelings of frustration and rage toward the patient. The author explores these ideas as they are connected to Winnicott’s (1949, 1971) work on aggression and Jessica Benjamin’s (1992) work on recognition and destruction. The author espouses a difference between rage and hate, where rage is seen as indicative of unmet needs, and hate is seen as a force that can emancipate the therapist from the encumbrance of unmet needs. Case examples are provided to show the utility of this perspective. Laurence Green, M.S.W., Psy.D. is on the faculty and a member of the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis. He is Co-chair of the History Committee of the International Federation of Psychoanalytic Education. He is in private practice in Los Angeles, California working with children, adolescents and adults.