4.8 Measuring Development

• Absolute (extreme) poverty


  The condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education, and information.
• Adult literacy rate


  The percentage of people aged 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.
• Reductionism


  The approach to studying complex systems by reducing them to simpler components that are more manageable to study.
• Biocapacity


  The capacity of an area or ecosystem to generate an ongoing supply of resources and to absorb its wastes.
• Biosphere


  The regions of the surface, atmosphere, and hydrosphere of the earth occupied by living organisms.
• Composite indicator


  A single number that combines multiple individual indicators to provide a comprehensive view of a complex concept or phenomenon.
• Degrowth


  A political, economic, and social movement that advocates for the downscaling of production and consumption to increase human well-being and enhance ecological conditions.
• Ecological footprint (EF)


  A measure of human demand on the Earth's ecosystems, representing the amount of biologically productive land and sea area required to provide the resources a population consumes and to absorb the waste it generates.
• Enhanced capabilities


  The ability of individuals to lead a life they value and have reason to value, encompassing various dimensions such as health, education, political freedom, and economic opportunities.
• Expected years of schooling

  The total number of years of schooling a child of school entrance age can expect to receive, assuming that the probability of his or her being enrolled in school at any particular future age is equal to the current enrollment ratio at that age.
• Gender Inequality Index (GII)


  A composite measure reflecting gender-based inequalities in three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment, and economic status.
• Gender pay gap


  The difference between male and female earnings expressed as a percentage of male earnings.
• Gender ratio for mean years of schooling

  The ratio of the average number of years of education received by females to that received by males.