UGB, 2018

1. Ketan Das
Ashis Mandal
Mostafijur Rahaman
Selim Saikh

2. The Gender Related Development Index (GDI) is an index designed to measure gender
equality. GDI together with the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) were introduced
in 1995 in the Human Development Report written by the United Nations Development
Program. The aim of these measurements was to add a gender-sensitive dimension to
the Human Development Index (HDI). The first measurement that they created as a result
was the Gender-related Development Index (GDI). The GDI is defined as a "distribution-
sensitive measure that accounts for the human development impact of existing gender
gaps in the three components of the HDI" (Klasen243). Distribution sensitive means that
the GDI takes into account not only the averaged or general level of well-being and
wealth within a given country, but focuses also on how this wealth and well-being is
distributed between different groups within society.
Introduction

3. GDI also addresses gender-gaps in life expectancy, education, and incomes. It uses an
"inequality aversion" penalty, which creates a development score penalty for gender gaps in any
of the categories of the Human Development Index which include life expectancy, adult literacy,
school enrolment, and logarithmic transformations of per-capita income. In terms of life
expectancy, the GDI assumes that women will live an average of five years longer than men.
Additionally, in terms of income, the GDI considers income-gaps in terms of actual earned
income. The GDI cannot be used independently from the Human Development Index (HDI)
score and so, it cannot be used on its own as an indicator of gender-gaps. Only the gap between
the HDI and the GDI can actually be accurately considered; the GDI on its own is not an
independent measure of gender-gaps.

4. Dimension

5. Indicators Maximum Value Minimum Value
Female life expectancy at birth (years) 87.5 27.5
Male life expectancy at birth (years) 82.5 22.5
Adult literacy ratio (%) 100 0
Combined gross enrolment ratio (%) 100 0
Estimate earned income (PPP US$) 40000 100
Goalposts for calculating GDI (2007-08)
Indicators Sex Value
Life expectancy at birth (years)
2005
Male 65.3
Female 62.3
Adult literacy rate (% age 15 and older)
1995-2005
Male 47.8
Female 73.4
Combined gross enrolment ratio (%)
2005
Male 60
Female 68
Estimate earned income (PPP US$)
2005
Male 1620
Female 5194
Actual Value for calculating GDI of INDIA (2005)

6. Calculating the GDI
1.Calulating the equally distributed life expectancy index
Female: Male:
The first step is to calculate separate indices for female and male achievements in life expectancy, using the
general formula for dimension indices
min
max min
62.3 27.5
87.5 27.5
34.8
60
0.580
xij xij
xij xij







min
max min
65.3 27.5
87.5 27.5
37.5
60
0.646
xij xij
xij xij







Next, the female and male indices are combined to create the equally distributed life expectancy index
using the general formula for equally distributed indices
Female
Population shear: 0.483
Life expectancy index: 0.646
Male
Population shear: 0.517
Life expectancy index: 0.580
Equally distributed life expectancy index:
1 1
[{0.483(0.646 )}+{0.517(0.580 )}]
0.312 0.299
0.611
 

 


7. 2.Calculating the equally distributed education index
First, indices for the adult literacy rate and combined gross enrolment ratio are calculated separately for
female and male. Calculating these indices each straightforward, since, the indicators used are all ready
normalized between 0 and 100
Female
Adult literacy: 47.8%
Adult literacy index: 0.478
Gross enrolment ration: 60%
Gross enrolment index: 0.60
Male
Adult literacy: 73.4%
Adult literacy index: 0.734
Gross enrolment ration: 68%
Gross enrolment index: 0.68
Second, the education index, which gives two-third weight to the adult literacy index and one-third to the gross
enrolment index, each computed separately for females and males
Education index =2/3(adult literacy index)+1/3(gross enrolment index)
Female education index = 2/3(0.478)+1/3(0.60)
= 0.318+0.200
= 0.518
Male education index = 2/3(0.734)+1/3(0.680)
= 0.489+0.226
= 0.715

8. Finally, the female and male education indices are combined to create the equally distributed education index.
Female
Population shear: 0.483
Education index: 0.518
Male
Population shear: 0.517
Education index: 0.715
Equally distributed education index:
1 1
[{0.483(0.518 )} {0.517(0.715 )}]
0.250 0.369
0.619
 

 

3. Calculating the equally distributed income index
First, female and male earned income (PPP US$) are estimated (for details on this calculation see
the addendum to this technical note). Then the income index is calculated for each gender. As with
the HDI, income is adjusted by taking the logarithm of estimated earned income (PPP US$)
log(actual)-log(min)
Income index =
log(max) log(min)

9. log(1620)-log(100)
log(40000) log(100)
3.20 2
4.60 2
1.2
2.6
0.461







log(5194)-log(100)
log(4000) log(100)
3.71 2
4.602 2
1.71
2.60
0.659







Female : Male :
Second, the female and male indices are combined to create the equally distributed income index
Female
Population shear: 0.483
Income index:0.460
Male
Population shear: 0.517
Income index:0.659
1 1
Equally distributed income index = [{0.483(0.461 )}+{0.517(0.659 )}]
= 0.222+0.340
= 0.562
 

10. 4. Calculating the GDI
Calculating the GDI is straightforward, it is simply the unweighted average of the three component indices-
the equally distributed life expectancy index, the equally distributed education index and the equally
distributed income index.
1 1 1
GDI= (life expectancy index)+ (education index) (income index
3 3 3
1 1 1
= (0.611) (0.619) (0.562)
3 3 3
= 0.2036+0.2063+0.1873
= 0.60

 

11. Scale for indicators of GDI
Life
Expectancy
index
Education
Index
Income
Index
GDI
0.611 0.619
0.562
0.600