The Measurement Revolution has already started

Over the last few years, and even more so after Rio+20, many calls have been heard for new tools to measure development towards sustainability, to measure wellbeing and happiness of people. And now there also is the challenge of another Eureka moment. Wow, let’s see if there is one.

Stiglitz stated: ‘If we measure the wrong things, we do the wrong things.’ Thus, let’s try to measure the right things: The Wellbeing of people and the circumstances in which we live and hope to do so for many, many more generations. That means that we have to measure
·Human Wellbeing
·Environmental Wellbeing
·Economic Wellbeing.
Human and Environmental Wellbeing are the goals to be met. Economic Wellbeing is not a goal in itself; it is a mean to enable the achievement of Human and Environmental Wellbeing.

 The Sustainable Society Index, SSI (www.ssfindex.com), has been developed to measure sustainability, or if you prefer to say so, wellbeing which will remain, which is sustainable. The SSI explicitly includes all three dimensions of wellbeing. It is built up by only 21 indicators. So it is an easy and transparent tool, balancing between the need of information for policy purposes and the necessity to give a clear message to the public at large. The calculations of the SSI cover 151 countries, comprising no less than over 99% of the world population.

 Since 2006 every two years an update of the SSI has been published.

The next update is due end November this year. We invite all of you to have a look at the SSI and see for yourself to what extent the SSI may serve the purpose of measuring wellbeing. We certainly don’t say the SSI is the one and only solution for all measurement problems. But it is at least a good one. That opinion is very much supported by the recent audit of the SSI by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, JRC. The conclusion of JRC is ‘that the revised SSI framework is conceptually coherent and meets the statistical requirements set by JRC. The SSI is well suited to assess nation’s development towards sustainability in its broad sense: Human, Environmental and Economic Wellbeing.’ The final report of JRC’s audit of the SSI will be published shortly. All JRC’s recommendations have already been implemented in the next update SSI-2012, which will be available in a month. And of course, all three previous editions of the SSI have been recalculated in accordance with the new framework, so one can see developments over time.

 Let us know your comments and see how the SSI can contribute to a sustainable future for all of us, wherever you may live on our one and still only planet.

 Geurt van de Kerk
President Sustainable Society Foundation
geurt.vandekerk@ssfindex.com.

Week in Review

Hi all,

Welcome to the week in review. This week has been a busy and turbulent week and we are happy to share a selection of highlights with you.

Hurricane Sandy and the Failure of GDP (Policy Shop 01.11.2012)
The economic analysis of the impact of Hurricane Sandy highlights the limitations of GDP as an indicator of well-being. The recent hurricane, similar to hurricane Irene, will cause spikes in consumption as people stock up on supplies. This article highlights how GDP is impacted by natural disasters.

Millennium development goals – the key datasets you need to know (Guardian 31.10.12)
Around the world meetings, movements and discussions are being held about the post-2015 development agenda. The Guardian Data Blog has collected a series of databases measuring the progress of different countries towards the millennium development goals.

Twitter vs. Facebook: Bringing Transparency to the Middle East (World Bank Blog 01.11.2012)
The use of digital media in the wave of revolutionary uprisings that spread across the Middle East and North Africa in 2011 came to be known as the ‘social media revolution. This blog post explores the role that digital media can play in the democratisation of information and the decentralisation of power.

Quote: ‘Big Data doesn’t just hold the answers to what products and services people prefer to consume, but also holds information about how people are coping with global stresses like unemployment and natural disasters.’ UN Global Pulse on Big Data

Global Gender Gap Report 2012 (Report Release)
The 2012 Global Gender Gap Report, produced by the World Economic Forum, ranks 135 countries based on 14 indicators used to measure the size of a nation's gender gap in four key areas; economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.

Hope to see you again next week.

Yours in Progress,

Philippa Lysaght

Education for All - A Focus on Nutrition

According to this year's EFA Global Monitoring Report, early childhood is the 'critical period' in which the foundations for success in education and beyond should be put in place.

The report is important because it highlights that education is not solely about making sure children can attend school but are provided with the support and opportunities that will allow them to prosper in later life.

This article will focus on Goal 1 of the report which aims to expand and improve comprehensive early childhood care and education, by looking specifically at the importance of nutrition in young children's development.

© UNESCO / Ghana / CAMFED

In a recent interview at the 4th OECD World Forum in Delhi, David McNair of Save the Children emphasized the threat that malnutrition poses to children:

“This is a problem which is hidden. It is the killer of 2.3 million children every year and there is an additional 170 million children whose physical and cognitive development is stunted because they don’t receive the right nutrients in the early stages of life.”

Despite a decline in the global number of deaths of children under five from 12 million in 1990 to 9.6 million in 2000 and 7.6 million in 2010 (EFA 2012), this drop is not sufficient if the fourth Millennium Development Goal of reducing child mortality by two-thirds by 2015 is to be met. In 2005 the WorldHealth Organization reported that more than half of all deaths among children are caused by malnutrition. It is therefore arguable that if governments seek to provide adequate quantities of higher quality food with more micronutrients, child mortality levels may drop to the targeted percentage.

Alongside mortality rates, stunting is the most appropriate measure of childhood malnutrition. Current trends reveal that by 2015 as many as 157 million children will suffer from stunting (EFA 2012). Broken down that is one in four children under the age of five. Stunting results in increased susceptibility to disease but also undermines a child's future potential, on a wider this can have associated economic effects for a country both in medical costs and in the creation of a depleted, unskilled workforce.

While the physical implications of malnutrition on children are clear, the cognitive effects should not be overlooked. In a press release for the their research report no. 18 (2006), the Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning wrote:

“The diet of children has risen to the top of the political agenda, not only for the potential health repercussions later in life, but also for its immediate effects on mental health of children and their consequent school experience and attainment.”

Malnutrition, through lack of both macronutrients and certain micronutrients has long-term negative impacts on brain and nerve development and function, including on mental skills and activity, and the acquisition of skills needed to interact well socially. This damage is often reflected in lower IQs and poorer performance at school (Save the Children). In the same way that physical stunting has economically related costs, cognitively stunted youths will struggle to enter a country's workforce. An example of this can be seen in Sub-Saharan Africa, an area that arguably sees the highest levels of malnutrition in children (EFA, 2012), where only 10% of jobs are available to young people. According to the OECD's  Promoting Youth Employment in Africa about 133 million young people are illiterate; while poverty and poor education facilities are catalysts to this problem, malnutrition almost certainly lays the foundations for it.

© UNESCO / Bangladesh

It is evident that progress has been made in the global drive to tackle malnutrition, however, by assessing these gains on such a wide level, areas where progress has been slow may get overlooked. Ironically, these areas are arguably where the most progress needs to happen. If we are to take the example of Sub-Saharan Africa, where 25 of the 28 countries with child mortality rates above 100 per 1000 live births are located (EFA, 2012), there has actually been an increase in child stunting from 38 million in 1990 to 55 million in 2010. According to UNICEF, “Children marginalized by poverty, rural location have benefited least from progress.” Malnutrition is rooted in poverty and deprivation. At a time where food prices are sharply rising poor people are likely to suffer the most since they wont be able to buy food even when it is available. The EFA report reveals that in more than two-fifths of the eighty-eight countries with accessible data, the difference between in stunting rates between rural and urban children was more than ten percent.

It is important to note that strong economic growth does not necessitate improvements in nutrition among children. While India has experienced exponential growth over the last decade, there has been little progress made in improving nutrition. Stunting rates have remained high and almost half of children under five are malnourished, a statistic that the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has decried as a “national shame.” (EFA, 43)

There is evidently a long way to go if the issue of malnutrition in children is going to be countered. While there are signs of progress, it is too slow and uneven. Judging by current rates, only 11 of the 65 countries with more than 40 child deaths per 1000 live birth will reach their Millennium Development Goal targets (EFA 40). Without proper nutrition, children around the world are struggling to achieve their full potential and this reduced productivity will weaken economic growth. David McNair stipulates that if we are to prioritise this issue then "we need to have the right metrics and statistical systems in place to ensure that government's are held to account for the progress that is being made." The EFA Global Monitoring report goes someway in allowing us to ascertain where particular improvements need to be made.

Robbie Lawrence, Wikichild Coordinator
@robbielawrence1 

Week in Review

Hi,

I hope you all had a busy and exciting week, we certainly did. This week highlights include the cycle of poverty, UN Day, happiness in the UK, a discussion on gender equality and a video on well-being in Vanuatu.

The Lost Generations (Project Syndicate 24.10.2012)
Jeff Sachs writes about the inheritance of poverty in the U.S. and the pivotal role education plays in the country’s economic success. To break the cycle of poverty, Sachs suggests the U.S. needs to invest in its children’s future,
‎

"One of the shocking realities in recent years is that America now has almost the lowest degree of social mobility of the high-income countries. Children born poor are likely to remain poor; children born into affluence are likely to be affluent adults." Jeff Sachs

On UN Day, Ban calls for renewed commitment to building a better world for all (UN News 24.10.2012)
Wednesday marked the 67th anniversary of the UN Charter coming into forces. In his message, the UN chief said there has been progress on many fronts on the international agenda, however recognised that much more needs to be done.

Happiness index: how does the economy make us feel? (Guardian 23.10.2012)
The UK’s ONS released their latest update from the national measuring well-being programme. The update addresses how economic growth impacts on national well-being and includes indicators such as wealth, employment and health.

The Wikigender Online Discussion, Engaging Men and Boys to Transform Discriminatory Social Norms, asks what are the opportunities and challenges for engaging men and boys in promoting gender equality? Read the comments and have your say here.

Well-Being in Vanuatu
A documentary highlighting some of the key findings from the pilot study on ni-Vanuatu well-being conducted between. The research was conducted by the Malvatumauri National Council of Chiefs and the Vanuatu National Statistics Office.

Stay in touch with us during the week in Twitter and on Facebook.

Yours in Progress,
Philippa

The Measurement Revolution - 4th OECD World Forum

Every so often an idea comes along that will change the world.  Not instantly though. A historical glance shows how big ideas that have gone on to transform societies are not often born with a Eureka moment: paradigms usually shift slowly. When Michael Faraday discovered the electric current it took almost half a century for Swan and Edison to create the light-bulbs which showed the world in a new light and greatly increased the amount of potentially useful hours in a day.

It takes time for people to understand and explore the potential of new ways of doing and being. That’s what was happening at last week’s OECD World Forum. There is now a consensus (following on from the creation of the Human Development Index and the Sarkozy commission) among many of the world’s leading statisticians and economists that we have to have a radical rethink about how to assess a country’s performance.

Not only is there consensus, there’s action. A group of technocrats you would never expect to challenge orthodoxy are engaged in a deeply political act. Countries at all stages of development from Canada to Mexico and Bhutan are actively trying to measure wellbeing, going beyond GDP to measure other aspects of life that seem to matter to people. The UK has heralded the 'Happiness Index’ and spawned a number of other initiatives aimed at quantifying the feelgood factor such as the Happy Planet Index. The old adage that ‘there’s more to life than money’ seems to have got through – at least in these quarters.

The move to broaden definitions of national progress has its roots in the wide realisation that GDP, so long the gold standard measure of performance, is seriously flawed. In his keynote speech at the conference Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz outlined how the economic focus has blinded us to other factors that affect our lives such as equality and the environment. It’s good for showing us how busy an economy is, he said, but too easily skewed by leaky tax regimes such as that currently found in Ireland. Other ready examples can be found in states with high levels of oil wealth. Progress may appear on the national balance sheet, but it rarely materialises as much- needed cash for cash-strapped pockets.

So if we don’t just measure the money, what else should we measure? That was the main focus of the discussion in Delhi. Health and education outcomes were obvious candidates but there was also elbow room for the suggestion that issues such as housing, quality of life in old age, nutrition, discrimination and even power are all worthy areas to measure  in terms of improvements in the collective human condition.

At this point the conversation tended towards the technical. There’s a broad agreement that we should be using multi-dimensional measures. There’s also much thought being devoted to whether such multiple measures can be brought to heel in the form of one composite mega-measure. It’s something the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative are looking to achieve.  Development Progress’s latest paper outlines a multi-dimensional dashboard approach to measurement of wellbeing and highlights some of the unexpected and encouraging results a broader look at the performance of African countries in the past decade can bring.

There remain good reasons not to get carried away just yet. Princeton Professor Angus Deaton contributed a reality check when he revealed evidence to suggest that money does make us happy after all, showing that, when taking a different look at the latest available data (admittedly from 2005), there was a clear correlation between higher income and higher assessments of happiness. It was left to Professor Deaton to make explicit too that happiness and wellbeing are highly subjective concepts. Whilst the utility and reliability of such emerging data can be called into question, it will remain a challenge to convince policy-makers to start applying any new findings to national decision-making.

In an interview shortly after his keynote speech Joseph Stiglitz was asked to explain why measuring wellbeing matters so much. ‘It’s quite simple,’ he said. ‘If we measure the wrong things, we do the wrong things.’ To capture a snapshot of people’s contentment with their lot in life will not prove an easy challenge, but on the evidence of the past week the crusading number-crunchers look set to rise to that challenge. One day we may well be thankful to them.

Jonathan Tanner
Development Progress

Development Progress interviewed a number of delegates at the 4th OECD World Forum in Delhi, including Joseph Stiglitz and Jeffrey Sachs, to get their views on the conference and wider issues involved in debates about the measurement of well-being.

This blog first appeared on 24 October 2012 on the Development Progress site and can be found here. 

The threat of youth unemployment in Africa

In his opening address at the OECD’s International Economic Forum on Africa, Olusegun Obsanjo warned that youth unemployment in Africa has reached a critical stage.

Speaking to the committee, the former President of Nigeria stipulated that with well over half of 15-24 year olds out of work, the potential for instability in the region had grown, as seen last year in the violent protests that erupted across North Africa and the Middle East.

In the last decade, Africa has experienced exponential economic growth. Going some way to shrug off the ‘Hopeless Continent’ tag tarred on it by The Economist, Africa created 73 million new jobs between 2000 and 2008 (All statistics in this article are taken from Promoting Youth Employment in Africa) and has more recently endured the financial crisis with many economies already growing at rates close to their pre-crisis averages. In line with these figures, six of the world’s ten fastest growing economies (2001-2010) were in sub-Saharan Africa.

On the surface this all seems promising, particulary the burgeoning job figures. However, these stats alone bely an underlying problem; only 10% of Africa’s job market is available to youths.

In almost adjacent fashion to Africa’s economic growth, Africa’s working age population grew rapidly in the last decade, between 2000 and 2008 it increased from 443 million to 550 million, an upsurge of 25%. 

If this trajectory continues then the continent’s labour force will reach 1 billion by 2040. With half of the continent’s population under the age of 20, Africa already has the youngest population in the world.

Despite improvements in education that will see 59% of 20-24 year olds with a secondary education by 2030, compared to 42% today, at present about 133 million young people (more than 50% of the of the youth population) are illiterate. Without the vital skills necessary for entering the labour market this group is marginalized.

Even for the educated youth problems could arise if Africa fails to implement an economic infrastructure that will provide sufficient employment opportunities for them.  Obsanjo emphasized the necessity for this support system, “If youth are given education and skill they will prosper...they must have financial support."

For Obsanjo, the prospect of a vast, under skilled and unemployed youth population is a serious concern – at the Forum he expressed that the disaffection felt by this generation could catalyze more Arab Spring-like revolts across Africa.

According to the World Bank, one in two young people who join a rebel movement cites unemployment as the main reason for doing so. In countries like Liberia, a state that has suffered two civil wars since the late 80s, unemployment is seen as one of the major cause of instability. Even in South Africa, the most developed country in the continent, the effects of high youth unemployment have triggered an upsurge in protests over the last few years,  the AFP (see video below) reports that, “Demonstrations have intensified in poor areas of South Africa with the number of protests rising eight fold in the last seven years – peaking at 111 in 2010.” In a derisive article written for AllAfrica.com, Glenn Ashton focuses on the South African governments faltering attempts to incorporate its politically active and restless youth into the country’s labour force. While the piece is openly one sided, it does provide further insight into this particular matter.

The devastating consequences of violence are all to clear from the recent horrors taking place in Syria, however, the economic ramifications of civil unrest should not be overlooked. According to the Africa Economic Outlook survey, the Arab revolutions caused “North Africa’s Gross Domestic Product to decline by 3.6 percentage points to near stagnation in 2011.” It is arguable that support systems for jobless youths must be put in place, not only to avoid bloodshed, but to ensure the sustainability of economic development in Africa.

Obsanjo concluded his speech by reminding the committee of the resourcefulness and dynamism of young people, and the necessity of including them in plans for Africa’s economic future. He stressed the importance of maximising the potential of youth by creating policies that provide education and opportunities. He closed with, 

“Youths must see themselves as agents. They must have the right attitude. They must not give up.” 

  

Robbie Lawrence, Wikichild Coordinator

@robbielawrence1