<P> The origins of the HDI are found in the annual Human Development Reports produced by the Human Development Reports Office of the United Nations Development Programme ( UNDP ) . These were devised and launched by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq in 1990 , and had the explicit purpose `` to shift the focus of development economics from national income accounting to people - centered policies '' . To produce the Human Development Reports , Mahbub ul Haq formed a group of development economists including Paul Streeten , Frances Stewart , Gustav Ranis , Keith Griffin , Farhan C.M , Sudhir Anand , and Meghnad Desai . Nobel laureate Amartya Sen utilized Haq 's work in his own work on human capabilities . Haq believed that a simple composite measure of human development was needed to convince the public , academics , and politicians that they can and should evaluate development not only by economic advances but also improvements in human well - being . </P>
<P> The origins of the HDI are found in the annual Human Development Reports produced by the Human Development Reports Office of the United Nations Development Programme ( UNDP ) . These were devised and launched by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq in 1990 , and had the explicit purpose `` to shift the focus of development economics from national income accounting to people - centered policies '' . To produce the Human Development Reports , Mahbub ul Haq formed a group of development economists including Paul Streeten , Frances Stewart , Gustav Ranis , Keith Griffin , Farhan C.M , Sudhir Anand , and Meghnad Desai . Nobel laureate Amartya Sen utilized Haq 's work in his own work on human capabilities . Haq believed that a simple composite measure of human development was needed to convince the public , academics , and politicians that they can and should evaluate development not only by economic advances but also improvements in human well - being . </P>
when was the human development index adopted by the united nations
when was the human development index adopted by the united nations
1990
1990