The OECD Better Life Initiative Romina Boarini Head of the Well-Being and Progress Section, OECD Statistics Directorate
Dec 27, 2015
The OECD Better Life InitiativeRomina BoariniHead of the Well-Being and Progress Section, OECD Statistics Directorate
Inspiration
• Build on long-term OECD interest and expertise on measuring well-being and progress
• Opportunity of OECD 50th Anniversary
• Shift the emphasis from measurement to actionable well-being:
– Well-being focus in policy-making
– Connecting people with policies
OECD Better Life Initiative
Your Better Life IndexA tool for learning what matters most for people’s well-being
How’s Life reportFirst attempt at an international level to present comprehensive and comparable evidence on well-being
Defining well-being in the OECD Better Life Initiative
How’s Life? 2011
• Method:– Selection of headline (22) and secondary
indicators (55)– High quality statistical standards– Consultation with experts and NSOs– A dashboard with traffic lights, not a
composite
• Findings:– Life in 2011 better than fifteen years ago– But some lives are better than others– No country is a champion in well-being– Friends, family and jobs buy more
happiness than money
Life got better but some lives are better than others
Source: OECD Health Data. Source: OECD (2011), Education at a Glance 2011: OECD Indicators.
Sources: OECD Health Data; and EU-SILC. Source: OECD (2010), PISA 2009 Results.
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
ZAF IND IDN RUS BRA CHN OECD
YearsLife expectancy at birth2010 or latest available year 1995
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
CHN IDN ZAF BRA OECD RUS
% pop aged 25-64
Education attainment 2010 or latest available year 2000
0
10
20
30
40
50
IDN BRA RUS OECD ARG
Impact of socio-economic background on educational outcomes (PISA points)
High income
Low income0
20
40
60
80
100
OECD
% Adults reporting good or very good health
No country is a champion of well-being but some do better than others
% of green lights out of 22 headline indicators
% of red lights out of 22 headline indicators
Ongoing research programme
Setting new measurement standards
How should we measure happiness?
How should we measure social capital?
Understanding the drivers of better lives
What makes people happy?
What makes people satisfied with their job?
What makes home a “sweet home”?
Addressing challenges in measuring and understanding well-being:
How much freedom do you have in choosing your life?
How much money is worth one minute of your sleep?
Your Better Life Index
What we have learned from users
• Global interest in project and findings– Over one million visits from 180+
countries– Over 38,00 indexes shared
• Emerging trends– Life satisfaction, Education and
Health leading topics– Men and women share priorities– Respondents over 65 prioritise health and
housing while 15-34 year olds focus on jobs
• Cases of individuals using BLI to spark discussion and launch own local projects
Collaboration with Russian Federation Account Chamber
Background: • RF accession to the OECD• OECD and INTOSAI collaboration in the
context of the OECD Global Project
Steps:• RF regularly invited to OECD events• Anton Kosyanenko (RF AC) visited OECD
HQ in early 2013 • Joint WPs on topics of common interest
Enhancing the BLI for RF
Data availability and timing (for 2010)
DomainComm
unitySatis-faction
Indicator
Hous
ehold
s’ inc
ome
Hous
ehold
finan
cial
wealt
h
Emplo
ymen
t rate
Perso
nal e
arning
s
Job s
ecuri
ty
Long
-term
un
emplo
ymen
t rate
Room
s per
perso
n
Hous
ing ex
pend
iture
Dwell
ings w
ith ba
sic
facilit
ies
Emplo
yees
work
ing
very
long h
ours
Time d
evote
d to l
eisure
an
d pers
onal
care
Life e
xpec
tancy
Self-r
eport
ed he
alth
Educ
ation
al att
ainme
nt
Years
in ed
ucati
on
Stud
ents’
skills
Socia
l netw
ork
Cons
ultati
on on
rule-
makin
g
Voter
turn-
out
Wate
r qua
lity
Air p
olluti
on
Homi
cide r
ate
Assa
ult ra
te
Life S
atisfa
ction
Averages 20%
Male/FemaleUrban/Rural
Data available in Rosstat publicationsCalculated based on Rosstat dataNot used by OECDNo data
Income Jobs HousingWork-life balance
Health Environ-ment SafetyEducationCivic
engagement
Building time-series for the Russian BLI
Domain
Indicator 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Households’ income
Household financial wealth
Employment rate
Personal earnings
Job security
Long-term unemployment rate
Rooms per person
Housing expenditure
Dwellings with basic facilities
Employees working very long hours
Time devoted to leisure and personal care
Life expectancy
Self-reported health
Educational attainment
Years in education
Students’ skills
Co
m
mu
n
Social network
Consultation on rule-making
Voter turn-out
Water quality
Air pollution
Homicide rate
Assault rate
Sa
tis
-
fa
ctio
n
Life Satisfaction
Data available in Rosstat publicationsData available from OECD or other international organisationCalculated based on Rosstat dataNo dataUsed in calculation of Better Life Index 2012
Ed
uc
atio
n
Civ
ic
e
ng
a-
ge
me
nt
En
viro
n-
me
nt
Sa
fe
ty
Data availability and sources (averages for Russian Federation)
In
co
me
Jo
bs
Ho
us
in
g
Wo
rk
-life
ba
la
nc
e
He
alth
Next steps of the Initiative
• Next edition of How’s Life: September 2013, special focus: sustainability, gender and well-being, quality of jobs
• Next update of the BLI: May 2013
• Country monographs on well-being: How’s life in your country?
• Policy implications of well-being measures: understanding determinants of well-being outcomes and their policy drivers
• Statistical agenda: • Guidelines on Measuring Subjective Well-Being• Social capital• Handbook on Income, Consumption and Wealth• Regional indicators of well-being
How’s Life in Your Country?
• Paint a broad picture of people’s life and well-being in the country considered
• Provide the country with an analytical framework for conducting a “well-being diagnosis”
• Identify the policy areas where the country should concentrate efforts to maximise the well-being of its citizens