Human Development : A Micro-Level Analysis

The term 'Economic growth' has all along been used to measure the progress of nations. But it does not reveal the wellbeing of different sections of the population in different regions of a country. Hence, 'economic development' implying 'economic growth' accompanied by structural changes in the economy has been used to measure the economic advancements of nations. Although this concept enabled to overcome the problems posed by the use of the term economic growth, it cannot reveal quality of human beings in terms of health, education and living standards. Recognizing this, the UNDP has computed Human Development Index incorporating progress of nations in health education and income levels in its Human Development Report first published in 1990. Taking the spirit of the UNDP, several individual countries have also been publishing information on the progress of different states within the country in Human Development. But in a country of continental size like India, there are wide disparities in Human development even within each state. The present study provides evidences of these disparities based on the micro-level study in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh in India.