Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

Award Date

2007

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department / School

Sociology and Rural Studies

First Advisor

Diane Kayongo-Male

Abstract

This study is an effort to identify some of the predictors of human development index ranking and their implications in the case of Haiti. Secondary quantitative data from a variety of sources were used and complemented with qualitative data collected from Haiti using a key informant interview guide. Because of the unavailability of the secondary data and the nature of the some of the variables, three groups of countries were studied. One group contained 64 countries, another 96, and 121 countries. The Human Development Index (HDI) of the United Nations Development Programs (UNDP) was treated as the dependent variable. Eight independent variables were identified and selected. The independent variables are education policy, healthcare policy, institutional qualitiy, corruption, democracy, state strength, foreign direct investment, and world system position. The results of the statistical analysis suggest that all of the variables, except for foreign direct investment, are significantly associated with the HDI. Only four of the variables: education, democracy, foreign direct investment, and corruption could enter the multiple regression analysis. The results of the multiple regression analysis reveal that corruption and democracy are predictors of the HDI. The results of the qualitative analysis also suggest that all the variables included are associated with the HDI in one way or another. The respondents emphasized that education, institutional quality, and corruption most affect the level of development in the case of Haiti. They affirmed that education and employment are the two most important areas to address in order to change the situation in Haiti.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Social indicators -- Haiti
Economic indicators -- Haiti
Quality of life

Number of Pages

160

Publisher

South Dakota State University

Rights

In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-NC/1.0/

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