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An assessment of the quality of life in the European Union based on the social indicators approach

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  • Grasso, Marco
  • Canova, Luciano

Abstract

This article carries out a multidimensional analysis of welfare based on the social indicators approach aimed at assessing the quality of life in the 25 member countries of the European Union. It begins with description of the social indicators approach and provides some specifications on its most controversial points. It then specifies the principles on which the social indicators were selected, describes the indicators chosen, and details the methodology employed in the empirical analysis. Its results are subsequently explained, in terms of both quality of life as measured by the general and the partial Quality Of Life (QOL) Indexes, and their correlations with the two indicators commonly employed in the EU context for welfare analyses - GDP per capita and Unemployment Rate. The article also reports further information obtained by plotting the QOL Index against GDP per capita, the Unemployment Rate, and an indicator of subjective well-being.

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  • Grasso, Marco & Canova, Luciano, 2007. "An assessment of the quality of life in the European Union based on the social indicators approach," MPRA Paper 1785, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:1785
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    1. Marco Grasso, 2002. "Una misurazione del benessere nelle Regioni italiane," Working Papers 41, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised Jan 2002.
    2. M. Joseph Sirgy & Alex C. Michalos & Abbott L. Ferriss & Richard A. Easterlin & Donald Patrick & William Pavot, 2006. "The Quality-of-Life (QOL) Research Movement: Past, Present, and Future," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 76(3), pages 343-466, May.
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    13. Kitty Stewart, 2005. "Dimensions Of Well-Being In Eu Regions: Do GDP And Unemployment Tell us All We Need To Know?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 73(2), pages 221-246, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Karen Hofmann & Dominik Schori & Thomas Abel, 2013. "Self-Reported Capabilities Among Young Male Adults in Switzerland: Translation and Psychometric Evaluation of a German, French and Italian Version of a Closed Survey Instrument," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 114(2), pages 723-738, November.
    2. Pamela Abbott & Claire Wallace, 2014. "Rising Economic Prosperity and Social Quality the Case of New Member States of the European Union," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 115(1), pages 419-439, January.
    3. Ewa, Lechman, 2012. "Social development – a multidimensional approach to social development analysis. Country level evidence for year 2011," MPRA Paper 41812, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Enrico Ivaldi & Guido Bonatti & Riccardo Soliani, 2016. "The Construction of a Synthetic Index Comparing Multidimensional Well-Being in the European Union," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 125(2), pages 397-430, January.
    5. Luca D’Acci, 2014. "Monetary, Subjective and Quantitative Approaches to Assess Urban Quality of Life and Pleasantness in Cities (Hedonic Price, Willingness-to-Pay, Positional Value, Life Satisfaction, Isobenefit Lines)," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 115(2), pages 531-559, January.
    6. Jerzy Michalek & Nana Zarnekow, 2012. "Application of the Rural Development Index to Analysis of Rural Regions in Poland and Slovakia," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 105(1), pages 1-37, January.
    7. Emanuele Blasi & Maria Nucera & Clara Cicatiello & Silvio Franco, 2013. "Socio-demographic Components of Eudaimonic Well-Being: A Survey in an Italian Province," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 113(1), pages 451-470, August.
    8. Enrico Ivaldi & Guido Bonatti & Riccardo Soliani, 2014. "Composite Index for Quality of Life in Italian Cities: An Application to URBES Indicators," Review of Economics & Finance, Better Advances Press, Canada, vol. 4, pages 18-32, November.
    9. Man Liang & Shuwen Niu & Zhen Li & Wenli Qiang, 2019. "International Comparison of Human Development Index Corrected by Greenness and Fairness Indicators and Policy Implications for China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 142(1), pages 1-24, February.
    10. Rahmat Aris Pratomo & D. Ary A. Samsura & Erwin van der Krabben, 2022. "Living on the Edge: Comparing the Quality of Life Transformation of Local Communities Induced by New Town Development in Different Peri-Urban Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-24, October.
    11. Longduoqi A & Hang Ma & Mohan Wang & Biao Yang, 2022. "Research on Urban Community Elderly Care Facility Based on Quality of Life by SEM: Cases Study of Three Types of Communities in Shenzhen, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-23, August.
    12. Ewa Lechman, 2013. "Social development – a multidimensional approach to social development analysis. Country level evidence," GUT FME Working Paper Series A 2, Faculty of Management and Economics, Gdansk University of Technology.
    13. Mohammad Rezvani & Hossain Mansourian & Mohammad Sattari, 2013. "Evaluating Quality of Life in Urban Areas (Case Study: Noorabad City, Iran)," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 112(1), pages 203-220, May.
    14. Katia Iglesias & Christian Suter & Tugce Beycan & B. P. Vani, 2017. "Exploring Multidimensional Well-Being in Switzerland: Comparing Three Synthesizing Approaches," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 134(3), pages 847-875, December.
    15. Oscar A. Martinez-Martinez & Ana-Maria Vazquez-Rodriguez & Margaret Lombe & Pablo Gaitan-Rossi, 2018. "Incorporating Public Insecurity Indicators: A New Approach to Measuring Social Welfare in Mexico," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 136(2), pages 453-475, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    quality of life; social indicators; welfare;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being

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