What Does Brunei Teach Us About Using Human Development Index Rankings as a Policy Tool?

Preprint

The Bruneian Government has set an ambitious target to achieve a top 10 ranking on the UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI) by 2035. To achieve its objective (described in a national strategy document called the Wawasan 2035), Brunei’s economy needs to grow by 6%-7%. Is setting an HDI target a good way to govern Brunei’s policymaking? Is it a good way to govern any country’s policymaking? In this paper, we look at the role HDI-rank targets play on economic and fiscal policy. We show that such a headline target (much like a profit target in a private company setting) automatically sets targets for growth in various economic sectors and fiscal policy targets. As such, HDI-rank targeting may provide a useful mechanism for co-ordinating development policies and for monitoring progress against a wide range development goals using only one number.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Economic Impacts of Globalization: Economic Development ; Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development ; Construction ; Optimization Techniques; Programming Models; Dynamic Analysis
• Subject: Human Development ; Brunei ; Dynamic Optimization ; Urban Planning ; Development indicator ; Brunei

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Michael, Bryane
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften, Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft
• (where): Kiel und Hamburg
• (when): 2015

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/107401
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET