New Publications
LAUNCHING April 28, 2010. A Century Apart: New Measures of Well-Being for U.S. Racial and Ethnic Groups.
An entire century of human progress separates the worst-off from the best-off groups within the U.S., according to the latest update of the American Human Development (HD) Index. Read the report.
RELEASED March 11, 2010. Residents of 29 countries live longer lives, on average, than Americans—while spending up to eight times less on their health. A new report ranks the 50 states and Washington, D.C. against 80 countries in the world on health care inputs and outcomes. Read the report: Health Care Doesn’t Have to Cost an Arm and a Leg: 29 Reasons for Optimism from Comparisons between Countries and U.S. States.
Just Released! A Portrait of Louisiana:
Louisiana faces many challenges. This human development report, with health, education, and income data by parish, race, and gender, aims to question priorities, foster accountability, and support action to reverse the trends of the past.
Read More | Order Free Copy | Create Maps
The Common Good Forecaster™. Education is about more than better jobs and bigger paychecks. More education is also linked to better health, fewer crimes, less incarceration, more voting, and brighter prospects for one’s children. See what happens when you boost educational attainment levels in your community! Read the report | Read the release
JUST RELEASED! A Portrait of Mississippi: Mississippi Human Development Report 2009. Mississippi ranks last among U.S. states on the American Human Development Index. But some groups in the state enjoy well-being levels similar to those in top-ranked Connecticut. This study examines disparities by county, race, and gender. Read the report | Order a copy | Create maps
Teacher’s Guide to “The Measure of America”
Lesson plans for high school teachers to use “The Measure of America” for teaching topics in U.S. government, civics, history, and census data. Includes worksheets, full-color maps, assessment rubrics, and more. Order free copies
The 2008-2009 Report
A first-ever measure of the state of human development in the U.S. with rankings by state, congressional district, and ethnic group. Available at all Barnes & Noble bookstores or online.
Read more | Order on Amazon
News & Events
Interactive Tools
How does your area stack up? Create maps for over 60 human development indicators.
How are you doing in the American HD Index rankings? Find out by calculating your personal American HD Index score!
Excel charts, drawn from “The Measure of America” Indicator Tables, are available for research, presentation, and other purposes. Download here.
Podcasts & Interviews
Click on the links below to watch or listen to the authors speak at interviews and public events about "The Measure of America."
Kristen Lewis on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer, April 28, 2010
Co-directors argue for HDI over GDP on Fairness Doctrine on WDIS-AM Boston (October 1, 2009)
See all Podcasts & Interviews
Endorsements
Rated an Outstanding Title by the Association of American University Presses:
“This book, with its well-written narratives and understandable graphics, is a clear concise picture of our communities. Useful for a variety of research purposes, this holistic look at the country should be required reading for the current administration and public policy makers.”—Karen Pangallo (American Association of School Librarians)
“I highly recommend this book for all public libraries.”—Tina Maria Beaird (Public Libraries Association)
“…if politics is more like trench warfare and scholars are the ammunition mules, then Measure provides a great deal of firepower. It especially arms progressives with more arguments, evidence, data, and numbers—many, many numbers—to challenge the worldview that adding dollars to the GDP is a sufficient public agenda.” —Claude S. Fischer, BOSTON REVIEW, November/December 2008.
“I am usually the skeptic on web tools for public policy purposes, but the new Common Good Forecaster is superb on both the substantive and ‘look-and-feel’ fronts.” — Michael P. Meotti, Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Higher Education
“This book is strongly recommended for those who want to know how people are doing in the United States. This question seems especially relevant now because the effect of the financial crisis on Americans is being felt through rising levels of unemployment, increased household debt, and reduced personal assets, as well as lost health insurance — a drama that is likely to broaden and deepen existing inequalities.” — NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE, Volume 360 March 19, 2009
“#1 of our Favorite Books of 2008” — THE GLOBALIST
“I brought along a book which I’m going to recommend to everybody – it’s a very well done study by a project called the American Human Development Project…And it’s something that I think you’ll find handy…to help place your state or your community in a national context.” — ECONOMIST JEFFREY SACHS, Summit to Realize the Dream, October 22, 2008