Question

In the PQLI, what does a score of 'Zero' indicate?

• A. Superior performance
• B. Average performance
• C. Inferior performance
• D. Unmeasurable performance

Answer 1

Answer:

C. Inferior performance

Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI)

• The PQLI stands for Physical Quality of Life Index. It is a composite index developed by Morris D. Morris in the mid-1970s.

• Its primary purpose was to provide a non-income measure of development, focusing on the quality of life rather than solely on economic output like Gross National Product (GNP) or Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Components of PQLI

• The PQLI is calculated based on three key indicators:

  • Infant Mortality Rate (IMR): The number of deaths of infants under one year old per 1,000 live births. Lower IMR indicates better health and living conditions.

  • Life Expectancy at Age One (LE): The number of years a person is expected to live once they have reached one year of age. This helps to filter out the high impact of infant mortality.

  • Basic Literacy Rate (BLR): The percentage of people aged 15 and above who can read and write a simple short statement in their everyday life.

PQLI Scoring and Interpretation

• Each of the three indicators (IMR, LE, BLR) is indexed on a scale of 0 to 100.

• A score of 'Zero' (0) for any individual indicator represents the worst possible performance or the inferior performance in that specific area. For instance, a very high infant mortality rate would push the IMR index towards zero.

• Conversely, a score of '100' for any indicator represents the best possible performance.

• The overall PQLI for a country is the average of these three indexed scores. Therefore, an overall PQLI close to zero indicates a very low quality of life and significant underdevelopment across all measured aspects.