The Measure of America

American Human Development
Report | 2008-2009

A joint publication of the Social Science Research Council and  Columbia University Press (forthcoming July 2008)

Written, compiled, and edited by Sarah Burd-Sharps, Kristen Lewis, et. al.

With forewords by Amartya Sen and William H. Draper III

AUTHORS: Sarah Burd-Sharps, Kristen Lewis, Eduardo Borges Martins

View Contents and Contributors

A Fresh Look at OLD Obstacles that PRevent Americans FROM Investing in Themselves and Their Families

“This report provides a rich analysis which will help us forge ahead in creating more economic dynamism, more effective social policies and an expansion of everyone’s freedom and opportunities.”
--William H. Draper III, former administrator of the United Nations Development Programme

According to the 2007 Human Development Index (HDI), published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United States is the 12th “most livable” country on the planet in terms of the scores it has earned on the following measures: life expectancy, educational achievement/enrollment and gross domestic product (GDP).

But this overall ranking tells us very little about how groups of Americans fare: men vs. women, African Americans vs. whites, Californians vs. Iowans, and so on.

Now, with the publication of The Measure of America: American Human Development Report 2008-2009, we can compare HDI scores for major subdivisions of the American population (men and women, various ethnic groups), as well as for each of the nation’s 50 states and 435 Congressional Districts. Led by Sarah Burd-Sharps and Kristen Lewis, the report is a Social Science Research Council-sponsored initiative to undertake for the United States the kind of detailed assessment the UN has been providing with developing countries since 1990.

Written in straightforward prose, the report is designed to appeal to a wide audience in hopes of spurring public debate and of mobilizing support for action and change.

The report has been modeled in the tradition of the UNDP's annual global reports (which have spawned more than 500 regional, national and sub-national reports). Originally the brainchild of Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq, with input from Nobel Prize-winning development economist Amartya Sen, the Human Development Index is a tool for helping developing countries shape their economic, social, environmental and other policies in a way that fosters not simply growth but also their citizens' quality of life. The American Human Development Report 2008 breaks new ground as the first-ever complex portrait of human development in a wealthy, developed nation.

The Social Science Research Council is proud to support this project that will bring social science research into public discussion in a dynamic—and hopefully influential—way. We are grateful to the Annenberg Foundation, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, and Oxfam America, and The Rockefeller Foundation for supporting this project.

The Measure of America: American Human Development Report 2008 will be available for purchase in July 2008 from Columbia University Press or as a PDF download from the report’s Web site, where the findings will be presented in an interactive format.

For additional information, contact Sarah Burd-Sharps or Kristen Lewis at americanhdr@bigplanet.com.