Measuring development - from the UN’s perspective

Recipes for creating development have changed radically since the international community first thought to intervene in such historical processes soon after WWII. During this time, views about how to measure development have also changed dramatically, moving from relatively simple to relatively complex measurement systems. This paper charts these changes using both the oral interview histories and retrospective book accounts given by those involved with the UNDP, and offers an analysis of their ‘political economy of numbers’. Their move from using GNP per head to the SDGs is analysed in terms of the potential performativity of those numbers in prompting development and for creating accountability.