Human Development and the Data Revolution

Abstract

Human Development and the Data Revolution tackles a topic that in the age of data and digitalization has become timely in global development: what are the potential uses of large-scale data in the contexts of development, in particular, what techniques, data sources, and possibilities exist for harnessing large datasets and new online data to address persistent concerns regarding human development, inequality, exclusion, and participation. It also sheds light into the challenges and obstacles related to the safe and effective use of big data and computational approaches in development, given that safeguarding privacy and security as well as ensuring accurate insights are crucial principles when addressing development issues that often concern vulnerable or underserved populations. The book employs a global perspective to explore the latest advances at the intersection of big data analysis and human development. Bringing together pioneering voices from academia, development practice, civil society organizations, government, and the private sector, the book has a two-pronged focus on theoretical and practical research on big data and computational approaches in human development. It details the potentials of big data analysis for development and discusses how the challenges or barriers to the adoption of big data analysis might present limitations for its usefulness in contexts of development. The book reviews a range of relevant methods and tools and presents research results of projects employing big data in contexts of development in a language that is accessible to development researchers, scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and anyone interested in the topic.