investing in health itself is essential to development. There are other indications that economics cannot be treated as the sole measure of development: The HDR points out that employment opportunities have not expanded with economic growth, as had been expected, so that other routes to employment security for people must be sought. In questioning traditional concepts of development, the HDR also puts forward notions of security that go far beyond customary definitions of national security to a definition of the security of people. It goes on to state that sustainable human development cannot depend on economics alone, but must be built on people's capacities, which can be enhanced only through participation in the development processes.

Health is integral to the social imperatives put forward in the HDR. The health sector has approaches to assessing risks and needs, setting priorities, planning interventions, and monitoring outcomes that can bring both concern and methodologic rigor to social development. The principles of social development that are expressed in the HDR can also bring to the health sector an insistence on shared decision making and respect for individuals and communities. Viewed this way, there is a complementarity between the health and social sectors of development.