1.

Human Development Index

● Useage: The HDI was created to emphasize that people and their capabilities
should be the ultimate criteria for assessing the development of a country, not
economic growth alone
● Method:

● Merits:
1. Effective in analysing progress made by countries.
2. Effective for policy formulation.
● De-merits :
1. Doesn’t measures qualitative factors. Such as, cultural identity or
gender opportunity
2. Focuses on long term development without considering nature or
ecosystem.

2. Genuine Progress Indicator

● Useage: A genuine progress indicator (GPI) is a metric used to measure the
economic growth and prosperity of a country. It is often considered an
alternative metric to the more well-known economic indicator gross domestic
product (GDP).
● Method:
The formula to calculate GPI is below, along with a brief explanation of
what each component means.
GPI = Cadj + G + W - D - S - E - N
i. Cadj = personal consumption with income distribution adjustments
ii. G = capital growth
iii. W = unconventional contributions to welfare, such as volunteerism
iv. D = defensive private spending
v. S = activities that negatively impact social capital
vi. E = costs associated with the deterioration of the environment
vii. N = activities that negatively impact natural capital
 ● Merits:
1. GPI includes social and environmental factors, providing a more
comprehensive measure of well-being.
2. It discourages harmful economic activities by adjusting for negative
externalities like pollution.
● De-merits:
1. Calculating GPI is complex and requires extensive data that may not
always be available.
2. The subjectivity in valuing social and environmental costs can lead to
inconsistent results.

3. European Quality of Life Survey

● Useage:The European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) is a monitoring tool to
capture quality of life in multiple dimensions. Since its launch in 2003, the
EQLS has developed into a valuable set of indicators which complements
traditional indicators of economic growth and living standards
● Method:
The EQLS covers life domains that correspond to a wide range of policy areas
and programmes carried out by European institutions. Many of those policies
address a range of issues affecting quality of life, quality of society and quality
of public services. These include employment, income, education, housing,
family, health and work–life balance. The survey also looks at subjective
topics, such as people’s levels of happiness, how satisfied they are with their
lives and how they perceive the quality of their societies and public services.
● Merits:
1. Provides comprehensive data on various quality of life indicators
across Europe.
2. Allows for cross-national comparisons, helping to identify disparities
and trends
● De-merits
1. Relies on self-reported data, which can introduce biases.
2. Limited to Europe, restricting global comparisons and insights.
4. Gross National Happiness
● Useage:Gross National Happiness is a term coined by His Majesty the Fourth
King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck in the 1970s. The concept implies
that sustainable development should take a holistic approach towards notions
of progress and give equal importance to non-economic aspects of wellbeing

● Method:The framework contains nine constituent domains of GNH. They are

psychological wellbeing, health, time use and balance, education, cultural
diversity and resilience, good governance, community vitality, ecological
diversity and resilience, and living standard. The nine domains include 33
GNH conditions expressed as indicators..The GNH Index is constructed based
 upon a robust multidimensional methodology known as the Alkire-Foster
method.
● Merits:
1. Focuses on long-term well-being rather than short-term economic
growth.
2. Promotes environmental sustainability alongside economic and social
development.
● De-merits:
1. The measurement tools for happiness and well-being can be subjective
and inconsistent.
2. May face challenges in global adoption due to differing cultural and
economic priorities
5. Happy Planet Index
● Useage:The Happy Planet Index (HPI) is an index designed to measure human
well-being and environmental impact
● Method:
HPI= ( Life Expectancy * Life Satisfaction)/ Ecological Footprint ​

● Merits:
1. Emphasizes sustainability by combining environmental impact with
human well-being.
2. Provides an alternative measure of progress, shifting focus from
economic growth to life satisfaction and ecological health.
● De-merits:
1. Relies on subjective well-being data, which can vary widely across
cultures and individuals.
2. Might not fully account for the complexities of social and economic
factors affecting well-being.
6. OECD Better Life Index
● Useage:The OECD Better Life Index, created in May 2011 by the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, is an initiative
pioneering the development of economic indicators which better capture
multiple dimensions of economic and social progress
● Method:The OECD Better Life Index does not use a single formula or method,
but rather combines several indicators across different dimensions of
well-being to assess the quality of life in various countries. The Index is based
on a weighted average of the following dimensions: Housing, Income, Jobs,
Community, Education, Environment, Governance, Health, Life Satisfaction,
Safety, Work–Life Balance.
● Merits:
1. Provides a comprehensive measure of well-being across multiple
dimensions
2. Allows users to personalize rankings based on individual preferences.
● De-merits:
 1. Relies on subjective data and varying national indicators, which can
lead to inconsistencies
2. May oversimplify complex issues by combining diverse indicators into
a single score.

7. Composite Wealth Indicator

● Useage:
● Method:
● Merits:
● De-merits:

8. Future Orientation Index

● Description: The Future Orientation Index was introduced by Tobias Preis,
Helen Susannah Moat, H. Eugene Stanley and Steven Bishop using Google
Trends to demonstrate that Google users from countries with a higher per
capita GDP are more likely to search for information about the future than
information about the past. The findings suggest there may be a link between
online behaviour and real-world economic indicators. The authors of the study
examined Google query logs made by Google users in 45 different countries in
2010 and calculated the ratio of the volume of searches for the coming year
(‘2011’) to the volume of searches for the previous year (‘2009’)
● Merits:
1. Uses real-time Google Trends data, providing an innovative and
dynamic measure of future orientation.
2. Correlates future-oriented behavior with economic indicators,
potentially aiding in economic forecasting.
● De-merits:
1. Relies only on Google search data, which may not reflect the entire
population's attitudes or behaviors.
2. May be biased by varying internet access, cultural differences.

9. Global Governance Index

● Useage:The Global Governance Index (GGI) is a composite indicator that
assesses and ranks countries based on their governance practices, including
political stability, effectiveness of public institutions, adherence to the rule of
law, and overall public sector performance
● Method: The Global Governance Index (GGI) is typically calculated using a
weighted average of indicators across several governance dimensions. Each
dimension is represented by multiple sub-indicators, and these are normalized
to a common scale. The final score is computed by aggregating the weighted
sub-indicator scores, where the weights reflect the relative importance of each
dimension.
● Merits:
 1. Provides a comprehensive assessment of governance across multiple
dimensions.
2. Enables international comparison, highlighting strengths and
weaknesses.
● De-merits:
1. Data limitations may lead to inconsistencies or inaccuracies.
2. Subjectivity in weighting governance dimensions can affect relevance.
10. Social Progress Index
● Useage:The Social Progress Index (SPI) measures the extent to which
countries provide for the social and environmental needs of their citizens
● Method:The Social Progress Index (SPI) is calculated as a weighted average
of indicators grouped into three dimensions: Basic Human Needs, Foundations
of Well-being, and Opportunity. Each of these dimensions is further divided
into specific indicators.
● Merits:
1. Provides a comprehensive measure of well-being beyond economic
growth.
2. Promotes sustainability by including environmental and social
indicators.
● De-merits:
1. Relies on data availability and quality, which may vary across
countries.
2. Excludes direct economic factors, limiting its explanation of economic
context.