OPTIMAL SELECTION AND RANKING OF COUNTRIES BASED ON WORLD DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS USING MODIFIED FUZZY DISTANCE BASED APPROACH

Abstract

World Development constitutes of the development and growth of each and every country. There are various factors that come into play for providing an apt environment for the growth of a country. It has always been quite arduous for the statisticians and financial economists to comprehend the evolving circumstances of nations quite efficiently. Thus making it necessary to comprehend various factors such as agriculture, health, economy, trade, etc. that contribute towards global development. Through the process of ranking, one can compare the strengths and weaknesses of several nations. Modified Fuzzy Distance Base Approach (MFDBA) is suggested. It is one such approach that helps to rank the countries and study various factors affecting the same and is an integration of both the fuzzy set theory and modified distance based approach. In this research, an exhaustive list of indicators and sub-indicators which contribute towards the ranking of country is prepared from the literature work. Thirty indicators were selected and assigned weights for the ranking process using Fuzzy Set Theory. There are many tools that can perform this ranking on the basis of single factor, but none that studies multiple factors. Hence, the proposed technique of Multi-Criteria Decision Making is used for determining the rank of twenty-seven countries. It also helps in further predicting the future trend and study the progress of various nations.