The HDR Linkage

The WHR 2013 investigated the conceptual and empirical relationships between ‘human development’ (the UNDP idea used in the Human Development Report) and ‘life evaluation’ approaches to understanding human progress. It argues that both approaches were, at least in part,

motivated by a desire to consider progress and development in ways that went beyond the mere comparison of GDPs, and to put people at the centre. And while ‘human development’ is at heart a conceptual approach, and ‘life evaluation’ an empirical one, there is considerable overlap in practice—many aspects of human development are frequently used as key variables to explain subjective well-being. The two approaches provide complementary lenses which enrich our ability to assess whether life is getting better.