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Published on: November 19, 2015
Social indicators: for individual well-being or social control?
Summary
Social statistics, like those from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), often conflict between showing societal progress and aiding practical social planning. This tension impacts health indicator development and future OECD programs.
Area of Science:
- Social Statistics
- Public Policy Analysis
- Health Indicators
Background:
- Social statistics are influenced by underlying worldviews.
- The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has a program to develop social indicators.
- Previous attempts at collecting social indicators provide context.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze how social statistics, particularly OECD's social indicators, reflect specific worldviews.
- To examine the contradictions inherent in the generation and use of government statistics.
- To evaluate the future of the OECD program within modern capitalism.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of the conceptual and practical contradictions in social indicator development.
- Focus on the tension between statistics used for ideological display of progress and those for direct social planning.
- Case study of the OECD's social indicator program, including health-related concerns.
Main Results:
- A principal contradiction exists between statistics that signify 'progress' and those useful for social planning.
- This contradiction is evident in social indicators generally and in health measurement specifically.
- The generation and use of statistics by governments are regulated by inherent conflicts.
Conclusions:
- The OECD's social indicator program faces challenges due to the fundamental contradictions in statistical use.
- The future of the program is linked to the dynamics of modern capitalist development.
- Understanding these tensions is crucial for effective social policy and indicator design.
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