Social progress around the world: trends and convergence
Abstract This paper assesses social progress in 139 countries over the period 1995–2017 following the framework proposed by the Social Progress Imperative; a notable contribution is a composite index allowing for comparisons across countries and over time. The index considers 45 raw indicators covering three fundamental pillars of social progress: basic human needs, foundations of well-being, and opportunities. The results point to a marked improvement in social progress all over the world from the mid-1990s, although they also depict a highly polarized world. Cross-country convergence patterns are also investigated, revealing a reduction in the differences in social progress, largely drive…
Well‐being in European regions: Does government quality matter?
This paper constructs a composite indicator of well‐being for 168 European regions with data from 10 well‐being domains. Regions are then ranked according to their respective levels of well‐being. The ranking reveals notable differences across European regions, which follow a marked spatial pattern. As a second contribution, the paper analyses the impact of the quality of government on well‐being. Results show a positive association robust to several specifications and scenarios. Moreover, the effects of quality of government on individual well‐being dimensions are identified, finding positive links with education, jobs, income, safety civic engagement, access to services, housing and commu…
Is the European Social Progress Index robust? Implications for the design of European Union regional Cohesion Policy
The European Social Progress Index (EU-SPI) is a composite index launched by the European Commission in 2016 to assess social progress. It is constructed using non-economic indicators, and is intended to serve as a tool for European regional policies. This paper shows that the 2020 release of the index is robust to multiple alternative designs, and thus suitable for policymaking. The EU-SPI and gross domestic product per capita (GDPpc) are positively correlated, although they are in no way substitutes. These findings suggest that the EU-SPI could complement the GDPpc as an instrument to determine eligibility and achieve a more citizen-oriented allocation of European Cohesion Policy funds.