How's Life? 2017

Hvor godt har vi det egentlig? Den mest kjente rangeringen av hvilke land i verden det er best å bo i er nok UNDPs Human Development Report, men det finnes også andre interessante rapporter som drøfter og fastsetter indikatorer og måler hvor bra befolkningen har det i ulike land. Nå nettopp kom OECDs rapport "How's Life? 2017". På nettsiden der man finner lenker til rapporten i ulike digitale formater, sier de dette om hva rapporten inneholder:

"How’s Life? 2017 charts the promises and pitfalls for people’s well-being in 35 OECD countries and 6 partner countries. It presents the latest evidence from 50 indicators, covering both current well-being outcomes and resources for future well-being, and including changes since 2005. During this period there have been signs of progress, but gains in some aspects of life have been offset by losses elsewhere. This fourth edition highlights the many faces of inequality, showing that gaps in people’s achievements and opportunities extend right across the different dimensions of well-being. It exposes divisions according to age, gender, and education, and reveals pockets of inequality in all OECD countries."

I tillegg til å sammenligne land når det gjelder blant annet helse, arbeid, utdanning, boforhold og fysisk miljø, har rapporten interessante dypdykk i innvandreres situasjon i de ulike landene og når det gjelder offentlige institusjoners kvalitet og virkemåte. Hvor godt offentlig sektor er i stand til å løse ulike problemer, og hvor mye innbyggere kan påvirke hvordan offentlig sektor er innrettet, er viktig for livskvaliteten i et land. OECDs rapport beskriver det slik:

"The actions of public institutions affect people’s lives, both directly and indirectly, in a large variety of ways: they provide public services, ensure security, support people in the event of unemployment, disability or retirement, and direct major infrastructure investments. In 2014, OECD governments were spending an annual average of around 40% of GDP on taxpayers’ behalf. Given this level of expenditure, how public institutions function, the outcomes they deliver, and the extent to which people feel they have a say in what their government is doing matter crucially for people’s well-being. At the same time, ordinary people also shape the quality of these institutions through their own actions – for example, through voting, using public services and engaging in political debate."

Dette siste er områder det er vanskelig å lage presise indikatorer for, så det er et spennende arbeid som er gjort i forbindelse med denne rapporten. I motsetning til Human Development Index er det ikke noen rangering av de 35 landene verken samlet eller på de ulike deltemaene. Men for de 50 indikatorene er det både laget rangeringer og metoden er grundig dokumentert. Mange sider av de i alt omkring 450 sidene består av grafer, tabeller og statistikk. Og noen beskrivelser av hvilke land som kommer godt og dårlig ut på et mer aggregert nivå finnes også. På side 46 i rapporten finner man en tabell som grupperer indikatorene i 4 grupper: naturkapital, humankapital, økonomisk kapital og sosial kapital. Rapporten sier dette om hvilke land som kommer best ut på disse:

"Overall, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and New Zealand have the highest number of strengths across all the indicators of resources for future well-being, with a reasonably balanced spread across the four capitals. By contrast, Greece, Portugal, Hungary, the Slovak Republic and Italy have the lowest number comparative strengths, often with some imbalances between the different types of resources."

Fra side 200 og utover i rapporten er det korte landanalyser, i alfabetisk rekkefølge. På side 280 finner man derfor en oppsummering av hvordan de norske resultatene er, og hvor godt det er å bo i Norge sammenlignet med andre land i denne undersøkelsen:

"Relative to other OECD countries, Norway performs very well across the OECD’s different well-being indicators and dimensions. Job strain and long-term unemployment are among the lowest in the OECD, while average earnings and the employment rate are in the top third of the OECD countries. Only around 3% of employees regularly worked long hours in 2016, well below the OECD average of 13%, and full-time employees report having more time off (i.e. time spent on leisure and personal care) than the OECD average. In 2015, the average household net adjusted disposable income was among the highest in the OECD, but household net wealth stood below the OECD average. Housing conditions and many dimensions of quality of life are good in Norway. For example, the homicide rate is very low, and almost 88% of Norwegians report that they feel safe walking alone at night, one of the highest shares in the OECD. Meanwhile, 49% of Norwegians feel that they have a say in what the government does, well above the OECD average of 33%."