A Critical Assessment of the UNDP’s Gender Inequality Index
This study critically reviews the Gender Inequality Index (GII), the new gender-related index proposed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the 2010 <italic>Human Development Report</italic>, arguing that its particular construction limits its usefulness and appropriateness as a global gender inequality index. In particular, the functional form of the index is excessively and unnecessarily confusing. Moreover, the inclusion of indicators that compare the relative performance of women vis-à-vis men, together with absolute women-specific indicators, obscures even more the interpretation of an already complicated index and penalizes the performance of low-income countries. In order to overcome some of the identified limitations, this contribution defines a new composite index of gender inequality that incorporates the GII variables but uses a much simpler functional form. The results suggest that great caution should be exercised when interpreting and using the values of the GII.
Year of publication: |
2013
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Authors: | Permanyer, Iñaki |
Published in: |
Feminist Economics. - Taylor & Francis Journals, ISSN 1354-5701. - Vol. 19.2013, 2, p. 1-32
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Publisher: |
Taylor & Francis Journals |
Saved in:
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