Human Development Report 1998

The Human Development Report, now in its ninth annual edition, focuses on the issue of consumption patterns in today's world and its implications on human development. The 1998 Human Development Report asks how the present consumption patterns should change to promote more sustainable, more equitable human development for both rich and poor people, and for present and future generations. It attempts to look at consumption in a human development perspective and traces the trends and geography of consumption patterns over the last three decades, highlighting the inequality and the disparity in that pattern. The Report also identifies the driving forces of the existing consumption patterns and highlights the role of globalization in disseminating global culture and values in changing the consumption patterns. The Report attempts to set an agenda for a consumption pattern that is both equitable and sustainable.