Is Human Development Index (HDI) a Reflector of Quality of Air? A Comparative Study on Developed and Developing Countries

Economic Indicators alone cannot capture the totality of ‘Quality of Life’ (QOL). The Most acceptable Measure of QOL is the ‘Human Development Index’ (HDI) of UNDP. HDI is a composite Index of three Indicators of three essential dimensions of life. These three indicators are of per capita GDP adjusted to purchasing power, life expectancy at birth, and adult literacy rate (including the gross school enrollment ratios). While, the measurement of HDI is considered as a measure of Human well-being, it ignores the other dimension of life, which is the quality of natural environment. Human being lives within this natural environment. In a polluted environment, human being cannot be stay well. In this study, it was examined whether the Quality of Air is Reflected through the HDI or not. In this study, the result has been come out that the Quality of Air is reflected through the HDI only for the Developing Countries. But, in case of Developed Countries, the Quality of Air is not reflected through the HDI