23. One paper elaborated the criterion of comparability of indicators used in connexion with the UNRISD data bank designed for a study of the interrelations of economic variables and. development. Three criteria suggested were cross-national, cross-temporal, and cross-sectoral comparability. The social and economic sectors for which indicators were compiled by UNRISD were listed. Development indicators were generally one of three types: (a) a percentage figure showing the extent of spread in a country of a desirable social condition, (b) a per capita figure of an economic nature without a distributional aspect, or (c) a structural indicator expressed as a percentage, such as the proportion of a population living in urban areas. 24. The selection criteria for the UNRISD research data bank of development indicators comprised statistical, analytical and conceptual considerations. The criteria were: (a) availability of data, (b) compara­ bility of indicators, (c) quality of data, (d) validity of indicators, (e) discriminative power, (0 balance and avoidance of duplication, and (g) conceptual significance. Those initial selection criteria· provided for progressively smaller sets of more precise indicators in a successive selection of indicators for the data bank. For analytic work, UNRISD used 21 key indicators which met more stringent. tests of availability, quality and coverage, inclusive of the capacity to discriminate effectively among developing countries. 25. Indicator quality was tested with correlation analysis, corres­ pondence analysis and model-building. It was argued that the technically superior development indicators tended to show the highest correlations with other development indicators, both within and outside their sector. The use of average correlation level as a selection criterion was argued on those grounds. It was also pointed out that a different selection of indicators would yield quite different results in explaining the variation of a given factor by other factors. 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the selection of development indicators by UNRISD, focusing on economic and social variables. The indicators are used to study the interrelations of economic variables and development, and the text highlights the importance of comparability and quality of the indicators. The analysis suggests that the category most fitting for this text is likely to be related to economic development, as it deals with the measurement of development and the use of indicators to understand its interrelations with economic variables.

**Category**
Economic development