The Measure of America: American Human Development Report, 2008-2009

by Sarah Burd-Sharps, Amartya Sen (Foreword), Kristen Lewis

The Measure of America is the first-ever human development report for a wealthy, developed nation. It introduces the American Human Development Index, which provides a single measure of well-being for all Americans, disaggregated by state and congressional district, as well as by gender, race, and ethnicity. The Index rankings of the 50 states and 436 congressional districts reveal huge disparities in the health, education, and living standards of different groups. Clear, precise, objective, and authoritative, this report will become the basis for all serious discussions concerning the realization of a fair, just, and globally competitive American society.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Brandon Peele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice synthesis of many key factors of the human experience. It has severe shortcomings, in that its scope was limited to the examination of census and economic data. What is needed is a more comprehensive approach examining values and beliefs. Economics, education, lifestyle, health, etc. are important inputs and applications feeding into the OS, but the OS also needs attention and work. The Cultural Creatives is a solid attempt at this and is a nice compliment to this book.

Ideally, I'd like to see a Campbell/Jungian overview of this data. How/why are people choosing life as they choose it?

[Dina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource for policymakers.