Comparison of the accuracy of the human development index with a discriminant analysis in the measurement of human development

Abstract

The present study aims to evaluate the success of the classification made in the Human Development Report (HDR) by means of a discriminant analysis. The report, prepared in the framework of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), reflects the socio-economical development level of countries worldwide. The results based on the data provided in the HDR (2006) indicate that a classification done by a discriminant analysis has a great success rate.