Measuring what matters in people’s lives: the OECD Better Life Initiative and beyond Romina...

Measuring what matters in people’s lives: the OECD Better Life Initiative and beyond

Romina BoariniOECD Statistics Directorate

Qatar Statistics Day ForumDoha 10 December 2013

Presentation outline

1. The OECD framework for measuring well-being

> motivation, context, content

2. How the OECD framework has been applied

> Better Life Index, How’s Life?, country reviews

3. How the OECD framework can be extended to non-OECD countries

OECD well-being framework > Applying the framework > Extending the framework

1. OECD framework for measuring well-being

OECD well-being framework > Applying the framework >Extending the framework

Why measure well-being?

How to measure better lives?

…addressing the well-known limits of traditional economic measures, such as GDP per capita, for capturing wider well-being and the progress of societies

OECD 50th anniversary: Better policies for better lives


The problem with GDP

• GDP never designed to measure people’s well-being: Counts only what has a price: goods and services exchanged on the market;

public services Offers an aggregate picture: does not on inform on how resources are

distributed across the population It is static: does not tell about well-being in the future

• GDP growth does not correlate with: People’s sense of well-being (e.g. Easterlin Paradox, life satisfaction trends

and the Arab Spring) Trends in household’s perceived living standards Evolution in other socio-economic outcomes

• The value of GDP: An indicator of macro-economic performance and in particular of the supply

potential of the economy Economic growth is “only” a means to Better Lives


Recent calls to go ‘beyond GDP’

• Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi report (2009)

• EU 2020 and Communication on “GDP and beyond”

• UN Resolution 65/309 (2012): “Happiness: towards a holistic approach to development”

• Rio+20 “The Future We Want” declaration, June 2012

• Wide range of national initiatives


Well-being indicator projects - worldwideOECD well-being framework > Applying the framework > Extending the framework

OECD well-being frameworkOECD well-being framework > Applying the framework > Extending the framework

2. Applying the OECD well-being framework: How’s Life? 2013


Wide (and growing!) range of applications

Communicating with citizens and the media: Your Better Life Index website www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org

In-depth statistical reports: How’s Life? 2011; 2013

Building well-being measures into OECD country reviews: Economic Surveys (Austria, USA, Australia) How’s Life in Israel? , Multidimensional Country Reviews (Myanmar, Philippines, Uruguay)


Indicator selection: measurement goals

Key question: Is life getting better, and for whom? Focus on people rather than economic system or GDP

Measure well-being outcomes rather than inputs and outputs

Describe both averages and inequalities in well-being

Capture both objective and subjective aspects of life

Be relevant to well-being both today and tomorrow


Relevance- face valid - easily understood - policy relevant

Data considerations- official or established sources; non-official place-holders- comparable/standardized definitions- maximum country-coverage- recurrent data collection- can be disaggregated by population groups

Indicator selection: guiding principlesOECD well-being framework > Applying the framework > Extending the framework

Just released: How’s Life? 2013

Gender gaps in well-being

The human costs of the financial crisis

How’s Life at a glance: 25 headline indicators

Job quality: Well-being in the workplace

How to measure the sustainability of well-being over time


How’s life in 2013?

20% top performers 60% middle performers

Canada

Germany

Greece


The global financial crisis has had a profound impact on people’s well-being

Life satisfaction dropped as unemployment increased

Source: How’s Life? 2013X-axis: Life Satisfaction =average score on a 0-10 scale ; source: OECD calculations on the World Gallup PollY-axis: Long term unemployment rate= % of the labour force unemployed for one year or more; source: OECD Labour Force Statistics

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 20126.7

6.8

6.9

7.0

7.1

7.2

7.3

7.4

7.5

7.6

0

1

2

3

United States

Life satisfactionLong-term unemployment rate (right hand y-axis)

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 20125.6

5.8

6.0

6.2

6.4

6.6

6.8

7.0

7.2

7.4

7.6

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

OECD Euro area (selected countries)

Life satisfactionLong-term unemployment rate (right hand y-axis)


The crisis also affected other aspects of life

Trust in governments declined

But new forms of solidarity emerged

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 201210

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

OECD OECD Euro areaJPN USA

Percentage of people reporting to trust national government

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 201280

85

90

95

100

105

110

115

120

OECD OECD Euro area USA

Percentage of people reporting having helped someone, 2007=100

Source: OECD calculations on Gallup World Poll


Communicating with media and citizens: the Better Life Index


http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/

The Better Life Index: lessons so far

• 3 million people from all over the world• Life satisfaction, health and education matter most• Community and work-life balance more important for

women, income more important for men


BLI users’ weights (50000 observations)

3. Extending the well-being framework to non-OECD countries


Goals

• Does the How’s Life? framework resonate with the concerns of non-OECD countries? Holistic view of progress and human development present in the vision of

many countries Many ongoing initiatives on measuring well-being in emerging economies The OECD framework covers universal aspirations for better lives

• What type of adjustments are necessary? Things that are taken for granted Data context Resources and capacity

• What applications are possible? How’s Life in country/region X? OECD Multidimensional Country Reviews


Methods

• Review of national and international practices in measuring well-being and human development

• Develop a framework that builds on the How’s Life dimensions and features but integrates non-OECD specific well-being issues and indicators

• Output: Conceptual Guide on Measuring Well-Being for Development

• Done by OECD Development Centre and Statistics Directorate, possibly mainstreamed in the OECD Development Strategy


Towards an extended framework - well-being here and nowDimensions Issues (examples) Indicators (examples)

Consumption possibilities

Material living standards, poverty, ownership of assets and durables

Mean household disposable income, national poverty rates (absolute and relative), etc.

Housing and infrastructures

Access, use and distance from basic amenities, access to health care and schools

Share in households living in dwellings without basic housing services (water, sanitation, electricity, heating, gas), etc.

Jobs quantity and quality

Lack of employment, informality, hours of paid and unpaid work, free time

Employment and unemployment rates; underemployment; share of workers with no written contracts; share of children engaged in child labour, etc

Health Status Longevity, morbidity, disability, malnutrition Infant, under-5 and maternal mortality rates; share of children with below-standard heights and weights, etc.

Education and skills

Literacy, competencies of children, adolescents and adults

Enrolment rates in pre-primary, primary and secondary education; drop-out rates; students’ scores (PISA), etc.

Social connections

Quantity and quality of social interactions, social support, social isolation

Share of individuals relying on private networks to find jobs; share of people reporting they have someone to rely in case of need, etc.

Empowerment Civil and political rights, access to accurate information, responsive and accountable institutions, sense of empowerment, cultural identity

Share of people trusting institutions and local governments; share of people satisfied with basic services; summary measures of rights and governance, etc.

Vulnerability Risky behaviours, violence and criminal victimisation, exposure to large scale risks

Prevalence of substance abuse; incidence of unsafe sex; prevalence of domestic violence against women and children, etc.

Environmental conditions

Indoor and outdoor pollution, water contamination, noise, green space

Share of households lacking waste water treatment and waste disposal; share of household using dirty fuel for cooking and eating, etc.

Life evaluation and feelings

Life evaluations, affective states, sense of purpose

Share of individuals satisfied with their life; share of individuals experiencing various positive and negative feelings, etc.

Towards an extended framework - well-being there and then

Dimensions Issues (examples) Indicators (examples)

Economic Systems

Economic capital, macro-economic imbalances, foreign indebtedness, transparency and stability of the financial system

Stock of net foreign liabilities; stock of produced assets; stock of net public and private debt, measures of illicit flows and tax evasion, infrastructural capital

Socio-cultural systems

Human capital, cultural heritage (languages, traditions), social norms, cultural and language diversity

Measures of human capital based on life-time income estimates; indicators of adequacy and efficiency of health care systems; etc.

Ecosystems Deforestation, desertification, loss of biodiversity, natural landscapes and heritage

Terrestrial and marine areas protected, etc.


Thank you! to learn more about our work:

www.oecd.org/progress

www.oecd.org/howslife

www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org

[email protected]


http://www.oecd.org/progress

http://www.oecd.org/how%E2%80%99slife

http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/

Measuring what matters in people’s lives: the OECD Better Life Initiative and beyond Romina...

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