Q.Why is per capita income considered an inadequate measure of a nation's development?

PCI is only an average — it hides inequality and ignores everything about welfare that isn't income.

Per capita income, PCI = National Income / Total Population, was long used as the standard measure of a country's development, but it suffers from several serious limitations:

1. Averages hide inequality. A rising PCI can occur even if the additional income is concentrated among a small section of society, while the majority sees little real improvement.
2. It ignores non-income welfare. Health status, education levels, life expectancy, and access to clean water/sanitation are not reflected in PCI at all.
3. It ignores the composition of output. PCI does not distinguish between output that raises ordinary people's living standards and output that does not (e.g., defence spending vs. public health spending).
4. Currency comparability problems. Comparing PCI across countries requires purchasing-power-parity (PPP) adjustment; a simple exchange-rate conversion can be very misleading.
5. It ignores unpaid and informal work, which is significant, particularly in developing economies. …

Listing only 'it hides inequality' and stopping there — a complete answer should cover at least three distinct limitations (distribut …