Internationally Recognized Quality of Life Standards - Essay Example

Topic: Quality of Life Introduction Quality of life implies higher standards of living. The parameters of measuring quality or the index differs with different agencies. To begin with the study on quality of life that will help us in achieving higher living standards for our community and better our ranking on the global QoL tables, it is of utmost importance that a serious research is made on knowing the international benchmarks recognized worldwide on high quality of life. The United Nations releases human development index annually considering life expectancy, literacy, school enrolment and per capita gross domestic product. According to a report by MSN Staff, the annual human development index for the year 2009 was released ranking Norway on the top of the list of 182 countries. The lowest ranking is awarded to Niger while Canada comes on the number 10th . The statistics of human development report and resources provide essential information about the human development index and other indicators . HDRO uses the statistics taken from international data agencies. Data sources are provided at the end of each table that can be matched to references in the bibliography . Different units are assigned different jobs. The Outreach and Advocacy Unit holds discussions with policy makers and encourages public debates, and functions in the direction of bringing change on the basis of ideas and analysis of the HDRs. Currently, Wynne Boelt is the Outreach Analyst and Marisol Sanjines is the Senior Outreach and Advocacy Advisor of the Unit. . The criteria used in establishing the QoL index are different in UNDP and other private agencies. The human development index goes beyond GDP to a wider definition of quality of life. It maps overall human development that is estimated from long and healthy life, education -- to be estimated from adult education and raw admission data, and a well maintained living standard to be estimated by equality in buying capacity, PPP, and income. The index is not a complete entity in human development as it misses on other crucial parameters of gender and income inequality or not easy to measure definitions of human dignity and political freedom. The index is a wide mirror of human growth and the complicated relationship between income and living standard (Human Development Report 2009). Out of many variants of HDI, short-term policy change is affected by income and gross enrolment indicators, which necessitates testing of the index after a gap of time. Trends can be quite revealing, as between 1980 and 2007 Norway’s HDI increased by 0.28% each year from 0.900 to 0.971. Although HDI has risen in all fields progressively over this tenure but growth has been slower or faced a setback (Human Development Report 2009). Other Internationally Recognized QoL Standards According to the International Living QoL Index (2009), France is on the top for the fourth year consequently. The priority list includes economical living, reduced taxes, good climate, and benefits of availing opportunities arising in emerging markets. There are nine categories that form the index, which are: Living Expenses, Culture and Entertainment, Economy, Environment, Freedom, Health, Infrastructure, Security and Risk, and Weather. Data from international agencies include the World Health Organization, The Economist, and the stats from government websites that determine the index . France has been on the top by getting 84 points in healthcare, 90 points in infrastructure, 100 points in security although the primary reason is the life style of France in the category of Culture and Entertainment by scoring 85 points . The number crunching takes into account the following variants: Cost of Living (15% of the total points) – It is compared to the U.S. standards of living taken from the U.S. State Department’s Index of Overseas Living Costs besides income-tax slabs in different countries. Culture and Leisure (10%) -- The criteria for measuring the points are literacy rate, newspaper distribution per 1,000 people, primary and secondary school admission ratios, number of people visiting museums, and an individual rating of different cultural and entertainment facilities. Economy (15%) – It includes interest rates, GDP, GDP growth rate, GDP per capita, the inflation rate, and GNP per capita to decide each country’s Economy points. Environment (10%) – It includes density of population in a square kilometer, population growth rate, CO2 emissions per capita, and the percentage of total secured area. Freedom (10%) – It includes political and fundamental rights of citizens, taken from the Freedom House’s 2007 survey. Health (10%) – It includes calorie consumption, ratio between individuals and doctors, availability of hospital beds per 1,000 individuals, clean water availability, the infant mortality rate, life expectancy, and public health expenses as per the GDP of a country. Infrastructure (10%) – It includes expansion of railways, highways, and reachable waterways in proportion to the population and size of a country. Other components taken into consideration are the number of airports, motor vehicles, telephones, Internet service providers, and cell phones per person. Safety and Risk (10%) – Under this head, the U.S. Department of State’s adversity Differentials and risk allowances based on abnormal difficulty, noticeable illness, or risky living conditions are taken into consideration. Climate (10%) – It is determined by taking into account the yearly average rainfall and average temperature, and related risks for the occurrence of natural disasters. Switzerland comes second in the ranking of the International Living QoL Index (2009) due to its secure economic environment and developed infrastructure. According to Mercer’s 2008 “Quality of Living” survey, Zurich is the world’s best city with Geneva coming third . The Economist Intelligent Unit (2005) has developed a new QoL index by applying a different method which links subjective life-satisfaction surveys to the objective catalysts of QoL in different countries. As GDP is not the only criterion of measuring QoL, some analysts have included non-market functions and social demerits like environmental pollution but difficulty comes in assigning money value to different determinants and intangibles that represent socio-economic aspect of QoL. Indices used are selected unreasonably and are partial and incomplete in measuring the QoL on a scale to assign points to different indicators. GDP is a satisfactory measure with prices as objective measure of goods and services . The UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights is quite comprehensive in measuring the QoL to start with but is lacking in giving exact measuring methodology. “Expert Opinion” is sometimes used as an alternative. Conducting life satisfaction surveys is another way through which people share their opinion. Questions asked are common, exhibiting people’s satisfaction with life in general. A routine question on a four-point scale employed in the EU’s Eurobarometer studies is, “On the whole are you very satisfied, fairly satisfied, not very satisfied, or not at all satisfied with the life you lead?” . It has been seen that responses to survey questionnaire are quick and non-responsive cases are very few. These surveys relate well with latest ways and means of finding living standards by other behavioral measures. Results are comparatively dependable and knowledge giving. Some critics say that surveys represent a dominant view of life not actual quality of life in a country. But it is also observed that people in different countries count the same criteria as a parameter of quality of life and if differences exist in life satisfaction, they are related to objective conditions. It has been noticed that reactions of immigrants are nearer in degrees to the local inhabitants than to their country of birth. In bilingual countries, answers to the survey questions indicate no linguistic differences in meanings of the words “happiness” and “satisfaction.” Self reports on life satisfaction can provide meaningful comparison among various countries . Survey results should be taken on their face value and the average score on life satisfaction should be taken as an indicator of QoL in a country. There is a mix role of modernity and tradition in mapping life satisfaction. Taking the example of Ireland ranking first in the QoL table due to a mix of modern and traditional variants like high income, low unemployment, political freedom with stable family and community formation undervalue its points on health, weather, and gender inequality. So parameters could be different according to different ground realities in various countries . References: Human Development Reports. [Homepage of UNDP] [Online] Available from: http://hdr.undp.org/en/contacts/about/units/ [Accessed 9 November 2009] Human Development Report 2009 Overcoming barriers: Human mobility and development. [Online] Available from: http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2009_EN_Readers.pdf [Accessed 9 November 2009] Human Development Reports. Human Development Report 2009 Norway: The Human Development Index - going beyond income. [Online] Available from: http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_NOR.html [Accessed 9 November 2009] International Living. 2009 Quality of Life Index. [Online] Available from: http://www.internationalliving.com/Internal-Components/Further-Resources/qofl2009 [Accessed 9 November 2009] MSN Staff. (October 5, 2009 3:25 PM). Quality of life index. [Online] Available from: http://news.ca.msn.com/photogallery.aspx?cp-documentid=22076695[Accessed 9 November 2009] The World in 2005: Quality-of-life index. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s quality-of-life index. . [Online] Available from: http://www.economist.com/media/pdf/QUALITY_OF_LIFE.PDF [Accessed 9 November 2009] Read More