The COMMON HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX
The Common Human Development Index (CHDI) redefines how we measure human progress by adding the social pillar.
While the traditional Human Development Index (HDI) focuses on income, health, and education, the CHDI introduces a missing fourth pillar — the social pillar — and the role of sense of community, showing that social belonging is not a luxury, but a foundation of happiness.
Using data from more than 5,000 Italian residents, our study demonstrates that individuals who feel part of a community report significantly higher life satisfaction, even after controlling for income, health, and education. In fact, the sense of community alone predicts happiness as well as the entire HDI, and when added to it, creates a more powerful model of development — one that explains both material and relational wellbeing.
Work done in cooperation with NeXt -Nuova Economia per Tutti APS ETS.