Measuring productivity and growth within a broader development concept of sustainability, equitability and democracy using Data

In this paper we empirically try to estimate productivity and growth of the world's economies by selected indicators measuring sustainability, equity, and the state of democratic rights and civil liberties. We use models from the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) literature to compare productivity levels in a multiple output setting. This productivity level can then be interpreted as a new human development indicator. In fact, in one I/O relation we re-estimate with the method of the DEA the human development index by using the indicators that define the index. Country clusters that are similar to each other in their transformational pattern are identified, while also interesting outliers can be singled out. Such outliers are either frontier societies or countries that are locked in an underdevelopment trap. Finally, we discuss the key principles of a development strategy that are based on broader criteria and indicators on the transformation of societies.