Assessment of Socio-economic Vulnerability Using Select Indicators

Abstract

Developing nations as a whole and the underdeveloped pockets within such countries in particular often face many hindrances to development being socio–economically vulnerable. An assessment of this vulnerability responsible for making such regions susceptible is the need of the day. An initial understanding of the degree of susceptibility and its consequent impact on the extent of socio-economic vulnerability can eventually help planners and policy makers streamline the path of future strategies of mitigation and restore a balanced development across constituent regions. The extent of susceptibility is measured in terms of a particular region’s inherent inability to adjust with the forces of rapid urbanization, advanced industrialization and globalization (Morrow, 1991; Turvey, 2007; Holmes, 2010). An acceptable yardstick of development against which the degrees of susceptibility can be assessed is required. This paper attempted to answer the following question: How assessments of socio-economic vulnerability within susceptible regions can become significant from an examination of interdependence between the selected demographic components and the socio-economic components as governed by Human Development Index? The work has been carried out taking the case of a relatively susceptible region of West Bengal, a state in eastern part of India. The paper has tried to review the concept of socioeconomic vulnerability in national and international context, different dimensions of vulnerability and interdependence of socio-economic growth components and demographic growth components leading towards different degrees of vulnerability exploring the significance of Human Development Index governed factors in the study of interdependence and vulnerability assessment. Further, the paper has attempted to identify substantial endogenous growth components and most vulnerable pockets. Finally, it has tried to understand the nature of interdependence of socio-economic and demographic growth components in vulnerability assessment