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24 Fighting the Diseases of PovertyFigure 10 Human development index, US, 1850–2002Value of index, max = 11.00.80.60.40.2Life expectancyLiteracyGDP/capHDI0.01850 1900 1950 2000YearSource: see textit’s subsidized by the governments, charities, or industry from thericher nations.For the United States, I have constructed an index similar to theHDI. Instead of education per se, I use literacy data, which are morereadily available. 19 The minimum value for each of the three componentscorresponds roughly to what it was around 1820, approximatelythe start of industrialization. These are: 30 years for lifeexpectancy, 73.7 per cent for literacy, and $1,257 (in 1990 Internationaldollars) for GDP per capita (Costa & Stecker, 1997; Maddison,2005a). For the maximum values, I assume 85 years, 100 per cent,and $40,000, respectively, similar to what UNDP assumes in itsHuman Development Reports (UNDP, 2000). My index assumes thatliteracy stays at 99 per cent after 1970. This actually understates thelevel of improvement since it does not account for long-termincreases in the educational level of the average American. Based onthese assumptions, Figure 10 shows trends in the composite HDIand its individual components for the United States from