Question

measures of development for selected countries, 2017

country	gross national income per capita (united states dollars)	human development index (hdi)	gender inequality index (gii)
canada	43,433	0.926	0.092
argentina	18,461	0.825	0.358
kenya	2,961	0.590	0.549
china	15,270	0.752	0.152

source: united nations development programme

which of the following statements explains one of the limitations associated with utilizing the measures of development shown in the table above?

a. gross national income per capita allows for the comparison of the wealth level in a country on a per - person basis. therefore, the relative wealth of the population in china and namibia can be compared.

b. all the statistics measure economic aspects of development and fail to measure social aspects of development. frequently, social aspects of development are just as important as economic.

c. the gender inequality index measures aspects of gender disparity for married women.

d. the human development index and gender inequality index use the same data and therefore measure the same noneconomic aspects of development.

e. all the statistics aggregate data to the country level. frequently, there is a great deal of variation in development within countries that is hidden by aggregated data.

Explanation:

• Option A: This describes a use of GNI per capita, not a limitation. Eliminate.
• Option B: HDI (Human Development Index) and GII (Gender Inequality Index) do measure social aspects (e.g., HDI includes health/education, GII measures gender - related social disparities), so the claim that all stats only measure economic aspects is false. Eliminate.
• Option C: GII measures gender disparity across various domains (e.g., reproductive health, empowerment, labor market) for all women, not just married women. Eliminate.
• Option D: HDI and GII use different data and measure different aspects (HDI: health, education, income; GII: gender - based disparities in health, empowerment, labor). Eliminate.
• Option E: Aggregating data at the country level (e.g., average GNI per capita, national HDI) hides within - country variations (e.g., regional differences in income, development). This is a valid limitation.

Answer:

E. All the statistics aggregate data to the country level. Frequently, there is a great deal of variation in development within countries that is hidden by aggregated data.