there is a high functional illiteracy in the US as opposed to utter illiteracy elsewhere. the difference is minute but could make a world of difference in the HDI
Charles Brown <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Charles Brown <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
by Doug Henwood
That was long ago, in the HDI's early days. In the first iteration,
the U.S. scored badly. As someone in the UN told me, "orders came
down from the top" - the White House - to make the numbers look
better. And they were remade to look better in subsequent years.
One reason - the first Bush admin had published docs saying
illiteracy rates in the U.S. were in the low teens. The HDI people
picked up on this, hammering the U.S. standing. Literacy was dropped
in favor of school enrollment stats, on which the U.S. does well.
^^^^^^^
CB: I notice they seem to just assume a 99% literacy rate for the U.S. (
footnote e ?) ? Is this a fudge ?
Do you Yahoo!?
Vote for the stars of Yahoo!'s next ad campaign!
