The book provides a comprehensive account of the human development (HD) approach to development. It shows how it emerged as a consequence of defects in earlier strategies, especially growth maximization. The book investigates the determinants of success and failure in HD across developing countries over the past forty years. Cross-country investigations show broad determinants of success and failure, while country studies give detailed examples of the policies and politics of HD. HD is multidimensional, and the book points to the importance of social institutions and social capabilities as essential aspects which are often overlooked. Yet the widely cited Human Development Index does not measure these aspects nor many of the other important dimensions of HD. The book analyses political conditions which are critical factors underlying performance on HD. The final chapter surveys global progress on multiple dimensions over a forty-year period and shows that there has been marked and pervasive improvement in many of them, including basic HD—life expectancy and infant mortality, education and incomes—as well as political freedoms. But there has been deterioration on some dimensions—with rising inequality in many countries and worsening environmental conditions. The book concludes with challenges to the approach—in particular insufficient attention has been paid to the macroeconomic conditions and economic structure needed for sustained success; and social institutions and political conditions have also been neglected. But the biggest neglect is the environment—with worsening global environmental conditions potentially threatening future achievements on HD.
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