Real Development Index

In Beyond Economic Growth, published by the World Bank, the author states, “Human beings are at the center of concern for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.” The author also states that development must include three aspects: economic, social and environmental. As of yet, there has not been a single index inclusive of all three to measure countries’ level of development; this index hopes to achieve that in order to give an idea of countries’ real level of development [1]. This author would also like to add that the idea of developed and underdeveloped is flawed, rather, all countries are developing because development is not an end goal. Development is the continuous improvement of a country in its standard and quality of living for its citizens. All countries face similar issues to varying degrees, thus a country’s level of development can only be known relative to other countries’ state of being.


Introduction
In Beyond Economic Growth, published by the World Bank, the author states, "Human beings are at the center of concern for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature." The author also states that development must include three aspects: economic, social and environmental. As of yet, there has not been a single index inclusive of all three to measure countries' level of development; this index hopes to achieve that in order to give an idea of countries' real level of development [1]. This author would also like to add that the idea of developed and underdeveloped is flawed, rather, all countries are developing because development is not an end goal. Development is the continuous improvement of a country in its standard and quality of living for its citizens. All countries face similar issues to varying degrees, thus a country's level of development can only be known relative to other countries' state of being.

Index Configuration
The RDI compared 110 countries with data relevant to the year 2014. The index consists of a total score of 100 points; a country can score up to 100 as the highest level of development compared to other countries. The RDI configures a country's score in three sections, with It takes into account 22 factors: 1

Health
Is life expectancy at time of birth. Data is taken from the World Bank [5].

Environment
Is the 2014 Environmental Performance Index, which "ranks countries on performance indicators tracked across policy categories that cover both environmental public health and ecosystem vitality" [6].

Education
Is taken from the 2013-14 Global Competitiveness Report and includes six factors: 1. quality of primary education, 2. quality of the educational system, 3. quality of math and science education, 4. quality of management schools, 5. availability of research and training services, 6. extent of staff training [7].

Gender equality
Is taken from the 2013 Global Gender Gap Index. "It ranks countries according to their gender equality rather than woman's empowerment." It measures four categories: Economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment [8].

Community
Is taken from Charities Aid Foundation's 2013 World Giving Index. The GPI is based on Gallup Poll questions, which had 500-2000 participants per country. The questions regard donating to charity, volunteering time to an organization and helping a stranger [9].

Unemployment
Is unemployment total % of the labor force; the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking unemployment. Data is taken from the World Bank [10].

Average income
Is GDP PPP Per Capita. GDP per capita is gross domestic product divided by mid-year population. GDP PPP Per Capita is GDP per capita at purchasing power parity. Data is taken from the World Bank [20,21].

Consumer quality
Is taken from the 2013-14 Global Competitiveness Report and includes three factors: 1. degree of customer orientation, 2. buyer sophistication, 3. extent of marketing. This factor was included to show a citizen's access to, and awareness of products in the market, which enables them to live a healthier material life [7].

Financial market development
Is taken from the 2013-14 Global Competitiveness Report and includes seven factors: 1. availability of financial services, 2. affordability of financial services, 3. financing through local equity market, 4. ease of access to loans, 5. venture capital availability, 6. soundness of banks, 7. regulation of securities exchange [7].

Infrastructure
Is taken from the 2013-14 Global Competitiveness Report and includes five factors: 1. quality of roads, 2. quality of railroad infrastructure, 3. quality of port infrastructure, 4. quality of transport infrastructure, 5. quality of electricity supply [7].

Business sophistication
Is taken from the 2013-14 Global Competitiveness Report and includes twelve factors: 1. local supplier quality, 2. local supplier quantity, 3. state of cluster development, 4. value chain breadth, 5.

Technology
Is taken from the 2013-14 Global competitiveness report and includes four factors: 1. availability of latest technologies, 2. firm level technology absorption, 3. FDI and technology transfer, 4. availability of scientists and engineers [7] (Figure 1 and Tables 2-4).

Innovation
It is taken from the 2013-14 Global competitiveness report and includes five factors: 1. Capacity for innovation, 2. Quality of scientific research institutions, 3. Company spending on R&D, 4. University-industry collaboration, 5. Government procurement of advanced tech products [7].