What are Valid Weights for the Human Development Index? A Discrete Choice Experiment for the United Kingdom

The United Nations Development Programme Human Development Index (HDI) aggregates information on achievements in health, education and income. These achievements are given a weight of one-third each. These weights have been the subject of long-standing controversy, from the moment the HDI was released in 1990. Alternative weights reflecting stated citizen preferences are obtained in this paper using a discrete choice experiment involving a survey 2578 adult residents of the United Kingdom. Health is the most important achievement, with a mean weight of 0.428, followed by income and education, with mean weights of 0.292 and 0.280 respectively. Evidence in support of the view that HDI weights should vary among achievements and countries is provided, based on cluster and econometric analysis of the survey data.