OECD Well-being Infographic

Whu Measurement of Progress Is Multi-dimensional New, Emerging Powers Emerging countries, with their developments taking place at such a high speed, have evidently grabbed attention. The famous BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India and China) have become so influential, that the consequences of their events (such as the recent Tianjin explosion) ripple throughout the world, covered and analyzed in depth by the media. Leading publications and journals have altered their strategies significantly to cover news from emerging countries. Wall Street Journal, for example, now has 2 dedicated blogs, one for China and another for India. Financial Times, on the other hand, has launched a complete microsite called EM Squared for matters impacting these nations Learnt Lessons Looking back at historical developments in other regions, one can identify the effects such transitions have had in aspects other than nations' economics. Examples of these effects are global warming and excessive use of natural resources, as a result of industrialization; and disproportionate geographic dispersity of populations, as a result of urbanization. Questions - Will the recent developments bring about other social and environmental implications? - Can prior situations be benchmarked to ensure minimal negative impact of these trends? I Why is it no longer sufficient to only measure countries' Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in order to track their progress? Let's assess this through 5 examples: Indonesia Key strengths: Forecasts: 1 Agriculture and natural resources encourage vast amount of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). A 14.3% Population (2012-30) - Processing and manufacturing drive the economy, through employment. Cth most populous country in the world by 2030 1 Private consumption comprises of 60% of the GDP. Annual disposable income (2014-19) A 44.1% On the other hand... - Waste generation (among the highest world-wide) is expected to increase from 22.5 million tons currently, to 53 million tons by 2020. - Indonesia has surpassed countries such as Brazil to have the world's highest rate in losing tropical forests, either intentionally or through fires. Pakistan Key strengths: Forecasts: 1 Geographic location contributes to economic prospects, as a connection between Asia, the Middle East, and the Arabian Sea. Population (2012-30) A 47.0% 4th largest country in the world by 2030 1 Trade partnerships span across the world (Asia, Europe and the United States) in the form of exports, 43.3% of which are domestically manufactured fabric and apparel. Consumer expenditure (2014-19) A 51.6% On the other hand... - Weakening security continues as a result of several events: poor education quality leads to unskilled labor; therefore unemployment, especially among youth, remains alarmingly high; more hatered grows, consequently, against refugees, who get employed. I Ranked 113 out of 124 by the World Economic Forum, in terms of human capital development. Uzbekistan Key strengths: Forecasts: 1 Government's modernization plans have resulted in indstrial improvements, such as manufacturing (especially energy-related goods), transport and infrastructure. Population (2012-30) A 19.6% Possession of mobile A 21.6% telephone (2014-19) - Finance and telecommunications services rose by 15.7% in 2014. Consumer expenditure (2014-19) 51.6% On the other hand... - Dominant industries still do not support the training of local workforce; lack of skilled labor remains an issue. - The Central Asian Tien Shan mountain range, partly located in Uzbekistan, has lost a quarter of its ice mass, causing issues such in supply of water, which is expected to worsen over the next decade. Cameroon Key strengths: Forecasts: 1 Resourceful and a global key exporter of Population (2012-30) 40.8% wood, aluminum, rubber and cotton. 1 Realized potential in telecommunications and tourism has attracted investment from public and private sectors. Annual disposable income (2014-19) A 31.5% 1 Relative economic stability, compared to neigboring counties. Consumer expenditure (2014-19) A 33.0% On the other hand... - Weather-related disasters, such as floods, impacted close to 52,000 people during 2010-13. olitical instability in neighboring countries, such leaving Cameroon to deal with high level of theft, suicide bombing and kidnapping. causir security issues, Colombia Key strengths: Forecasts: 1 Self-reliant for agriculture production; gross domestic manufacturing output rose by 3.3% in 2014, and 17.3% of the nation's workforce are employed in farming. Population (2012-30) 19.9% 29th largest country in the world by 2030 1 One of the biggest oil exporters in South America; the governement depends on this Consumer expenditure (2014-19) 19.0% sector for 25% of its revenues. On the other hand... 1 Despite years of effort to reduce drug trafficicking, the Latin American country is still concerned about alarming production of drugs, as cultivation of their base ingredients continue to increase. - The nation is still not compliant with international criteria in terms of civil rights (e.g. freedom of speech) and obliteration of corruption. As promising as emerging markets seem for financial investment, other alarming phenomena cannot be neglected. These phenomena are equally rising everywhere, irrespective of geographic location. Now, let's look at it another way The figure below demonstrates 3 contextual layers to consider, when assessing the progress within any community. It is depicted from Maureen Hart's criteria for Sustainable Measures in his publication for Boston University. 1 Producers 1 Consumers 1 Human capital 1 Social capital 1 Natural resources 1 Ecosystem services 1 Natural capital Еconomy Society Environment At the heart of the figure and considers pure economic activities, those basic monetary transactions for goods, services, labor and capital. Directly connected to monetary transactions and in-depth analyses of the social aspects; all factors involving skills, education, health, communal dependance, cooperation and organization. Enveloping economic and social layers, and most significant connection to the rest of the world. GDP, according to Hart, is incomplete, because it only relates to this layer. This layer considers natural resources, the ratio of usage to renewal of ecosystem components. "GDP measures everything [.…..] except that which makes life worthwhile." Robert F. Kennedy So, how can we communicate the multi-dimensionality of social progress, to move beyond GDP? Generally, GDP is widely used due to 4 characteristics it possesses. These characteristics can be used to demonstrate why and how to move forward, and which other metrics fit the requirements better. Simplicitu & Linearitu Many attribute the wide-spread use of GDP to its simplicity of calculation, making it relevant to various contexts without needing specialized tools and techniques. However, and as the Boston University paper suggests, because this measurement is based on the most basic of business transactions, dealing with "matters that are the center of conflict $40.000 of opposing social groups," reports are often skewed to the dominant side of these $35.000 transactions, in turn encouraging "activities that are counter to long-term community $30.000 * $25.000 well-being. 8 s20000 An index called Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) uses GDP as its foundation; but only by adding measures for sustainable use of natural resources, and as shown in the chart to the right, the GPI demonstrates the actual progress as much flatter than generally observed. * $15,000 $10,000 1950 1956 1962 1968 1974 1986 1992 1998 2004 1980 Source Toleth Coe etol 2007 - GPI Per Capita -- GDP Per Capita Consistencu Data needed and reporting process can be done on a regular basis; mostly taking place annually. sometimes quarterly. In a paper by Boston University, several alternatives are suggested as measurement for progress, 3 of which are: > Human Development Index (HDI) A measurement to determine how well-being is improved through human development and economic growth, by taking into account factors such as life expectancy, health, level of knowledge, as well as investment in youth. All above factors can be obtained on a yearly basis; HDI is introduced by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and supported by government, NGOS and foundations all around the world. Living Planet Index (LPI) A measurement to determine the extent of biodiversity loss, by tracking resources such as forests, freshwater and marine ecosystems. Similar to HDI, all resources and measurements can be obtained on a yearly basis; LPI is introduced by the World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature, and supported by government, NGOS and foundations all around the world. > National Income Satellite Accounts (NISA) A method to measure factors left out of accounting systems by categorizing and reporting them as "supplemental" or "satellite" accounts. 2 examples of such categories are "Flow Accounts"-how materials and energy are used in industries-and "Expenditure Accounts"-fiscal expenditure by societies to protect their natural resources. NISA is supported by organizations such as International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Universalitu It is argued that GDP's universality and accordance to countries' Systems of National Accounts (SNAS) helps in making it easy to estimate. Because surveying process and data collection and maintenance is the same, GDP is one way to relate nations' economies to one another. With this said, and as far as relations are involved, the earth's natural resources are at the basis of all products and processes used and shared, and the human aspects (culture, dialog, and collaboration) that facilitates open communications. while GDP provides advantages that help in estimation of economic progress, which is one of the main components of every society's well-being, there are more dimensions to consider when it comes to humankind and the world as a whole. Surces: Costanza, Robert, Maureen Hart, Stephen Posner, and John Taberth Beyond GDP: The Need for New Measures of Progress. Boston U. 2009. Risks and Vulnerabilities: Cameroon, EuroMonitor International, August 2014. Indonesia: Country Profile, EuroMonitor International, 26 May 2015. Alister Doyle, Indonesia Overtakes Brazil in Forest Losses Despite Moratorium, Reuters, 29 June 2014. Pakistan: Country Profile, EuroMonitor International, 31 July 2015. The Human Capital Report 2015, World Economic Forum, 2015. Uzbekistan: Country Profile, EuroMonitor International, 12 June 2015. Sara Schorhardt, Q&A: What Crowdsourcing Means to Indonesia's Forests, The Wall Street Journal, 12 November 2014. Cameroon: Country Profile, EuroMonitor International, 24 July 2015. Colombia: Country Profile, EuroMonitor International 14 August 2015. Gbenga Akingbule, General Named to Lead Force Against Militants, The Wall Street Journal, 30 July 2015. Indonesia in 2030: The Future Demographic, EuroMonitor International April 2013. Gautam Naik, Central Asia Mountain Range Has Lost a Quarter of Ice Mass in 50 Years, Study Says, The Wall Street Journal, 17 August Pakistan in 2030: The Future Demographic, EuroMonitor 2015. International, March 2013. AbDube, Colombian Coca About Cocaine Trafficking. The Wall Street Journal, 2 July 2015. Ryan Dube, ca Crop Increases in 2014, Raising Concern Uzbekistan in 2030: The Future Demographic, EurcMonitor International October 2013. Other: Cameroon in 2030: The Future Demographic, EuroMonitor International July 2013. Passport by Euromonitor Dashboard for forecasts by cities (2014-19) Colombia in 2030: The Future Demographic, EuroMonitor International September 2013. This infographic was created for the WikiProgress Well-being competition, and as a personal submission by Maryam Houbakht. O OECD POUCIES FOR BETTER LIVES