quality of life

Dealing with Complexity in Society:
From Plurality of Data to Synthetic Indicators
An index for quality of life
40 years of experience in The Netherlands
Jeroen Boelhouwer
The Netherlands Institute for Social Research | SCP
…
September 17th and 18th, 2015
1
Dealing with Complexity in Society
2
What is qol?
Conceptual framework
SCP Life Situation Index
Opening Session
OUTLINE
1. What is ‘quality of life’?
2. Conceptual framework for analyzing QoL
3. The SCP Life Situation Index
Jeroen Boelhouwer
Dealing with Complexity in society
3
What is Quality of life
Conceptual framework
SCP Life Situation Index
Opening Session
What is ‘quality of life’ ?
Related concepts: social inclusion, well-being, living
conditions, happiness, life situation
Economic? Subjective (USA) ? Objective (Scandinavia) ?
7-10 domains:
1. social networks;
2. education;
3. work;
4. housing;
6. leisure;
7. health;
8. participation;
9. material wellbeing / living standard;
5. personal safety
10. environment
Micro, macro?
Jeroen Boelhouwer
Dealing with Complexity in society
4
What is Quality of life
Conceptual framework
SCP Life Situation Index
Opening Session
What is ‘quality of life’ ?
Objective
Domains
* income
* health
* housing
Total
Subjective
Domains
* income
* health
* housing
Total
* SCP life situation index
* happiness
* UN human development index
* satisfaction with life scale
OECD Better Life Index
Bhutan Gross National Happiness
Jeroen Boelhouwer
Dealing with Complexity in society
5
What is Quality of life
Conceptual framework
SCP Life Situation Index
Opening Session
Conceptual framework for measuring Quality of Life
Capabilities -> Life Situation ->SWB
Jeroen Boelhouwer
Dealing with Complexity in society
6
What is Quality of life
Conceptual framework
SCP Life Situation Index
Opening Session
Domains of the SCP Life Situation Index
• Health
– Illnesses and handicaps -> being hampered
– Sport Activity
• Social Networks / Participation
–
–
–
–
Membership of organizations
Volunteer work
Loneliness
Leisure Activities
• Prosperity
–
–
–
–
Housing
Mobility
Vacation
Consumer Durables
Jeroen Boelhouwer
Dealing with Complexity in society
7
What is Quality of life
Conceptual framework
SCP Life Situation Index
Opening Session
Why an index?
• Quick first and global look
– Attracts attention
– Signals developments
• Integrative way of describing
• Complex phenomena
– Focuses attention on overall developments
– shows the compensating possibilities between
domains
• Could (potentially) make social indicators as
important as economic indicators
Jeroen Boelhouwer
Dealing with Complexity in society
8
What is Quality of life
Conceptual framework
SCP Life Situation Index
Opening Session
Apples and oranges – a fruitbasket
Jeroen Boelhouwer
Dealing with Complexity in society
9
What is Quality of life
Conceptual framework
SCP Life Situation Index
Opening Session
How to combine the indicators?
•
•
Sum unweighted
Sum of change in percentages
•
Extent to which goals are met (HDI)
•
To weight or not to weight?
• Consulting experts
• Political priorities
• External indicator
• Multivariate technique
Jeroen Boelhouwer
No Theory
Dealing with Complexity in society
10
What is Quality of life
Conceptual framework
SCP Life Situation Index
Opening Session
Constructing the SCP Life Situation Index
•
Pragmatic solution:
– starting point is common dimension of indicators
– individually based -> one data source
•
Instead of using a measured variable to get the weights:
find an underlying, latent variable
•
OVERALS (non-linear canonical correlation analysis):
– define clusters in analysis
– weights for categories of indicators as well
– nominal indicators can be included
Jeroen Boelhouwer
Dealing with Complexity in society
11
GDP, SCP Life Situation Index and satisfaction with life, since
2004
Opening Session
Life Situation in the Netherlands
1974-2013s
Jeroen Boelhouwer
Dealing with Complexity in society
12
Devel;opment of the Life Situation in the Netherlands 1974-2014
Opening Session
Life Situation in the Netherlands
1974-2013s
Jeroen Boelhouwer
Dealing with Complexity in society
13
What is Quality of life
Conceptual framework
SCP Life Situation Index
Opening Session
Differences in Life Situation in the Netherlands, 2014
Jeroen Boelhouwer
Dealing with Complexity in society
14
Dealing with Complexity in Society:
From Plurality of Data to Synthetic Indicators
THANK
YOU
Jeroen Boelhouwer
The Netherlands Institute for Social Research | SCP
http://www.scp.nl/english/
Calculate your own score on the life situation index
http://www.scp.nl/english/leefsituatie/
…
September 17th and 18th, 2015
15