PHM-Exch> OECD Looks To Measure The 'Better Life'

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Ruggiero, Mrs. Ana Lucia (WDC) <ruglucia at paho.org>
crossposted from: EQUIDAD at listserv.paho.org


 *Compendium of OECD well-being indicators

*

*OECD May 2011
*
Website:  http://bit.ly/iZ41bq

 PDF at: http://bit.ly/jYuhRo

 In terms of focus, the Compendium provides evidence on:

·         the well-being of *people *in each country, rather than on the
macro-economic conditions of economies; hence, many standard indicators of
macro-economic performance (e.g. GDP, productivity, innovation) are not
included in this Compendium.

·         the well-being of different groups of the population, in addition
to average conditions. Measures of *inequalities *in people"s conditions
will figure prominently in the "How"s Life?" report but are only discussed
briefly in this Compendium.

·         well-being achievements, measured by *outcome *indicators, as
opposed to well-being drivers measured by input or output indicators.

·         *objective *and *subjective *aspects of people"s well-being as
both living conditions and their appreciation by individuals are important
to understand people"s well-being.


In terms of scope, the framework distinguishes between current material
living conditions and quality of life, on the one hand, and the conditions
required to ensure their sustainability over time, on the other

- *Material living conditions *(or "economic well-being") determine people"s
consumption possibilities and their command over resources. While this is
shaped by GDP, the latter also includes activities that do not contribute to
people"s well-being (e.g. activities aimed at offsetting some of the
regrettable consequences of economic development) while it excludes
non-market activities that expand people"s consumption possibilities.

- *Quality of life*, defined as the set of non-monetary attributes of
individuals, shapes their opportunities and life chances, and has intrinsic
value under different cultures and contexts.
- The *sustainability of the socio-economic and natural systems *where
people live and work is critical for well-being to last over time.
Sustainability depends on how current human activities impact on the stocks
of different types of capital (natural, economic, human and social).
However, suitable indicators for describing the evolution of these stocks
are still lacking in many fields. For this reason, indicators of
sustainability are not included in this Compendium, although some of them
will feature in "How"s Life?".



*OECD Looks To Measure The 'Better Life'*. "It is time to move beyond gross
domestic product when measuring the success of societies, the Organization
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), has concluded in a change
of mission for the international organization....The OECD's new Better Life
Index, an amalgam of 11 indicators, including income and jobs, but also life
satisfaction and safety, aims to capture the diversity of life and
priorities in advanced economies.

Unlike existing composite indicators users of the new OECD index can give
each of the 11 indicators a different weight according to their own
preferences and see how such changes alter the league table of countries...."
[*Financial Times*]
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