Presentation on "Well-being in Regions: building more coherent policies for a better growth model" made at the Hvordan får vi nyt liv i væksten? [How do we spark growth?], Copenhagen Denmark, 2 May 2014, by by Joaquim Oliveira Martins, Head, Regional Development Policy Division & Monica Brezzi, Head of Statistics Unit,OECD. For more information see www.oecd.org/regional/how-is-life-in-your-region.htm.

1. WELL-BEING IN REGIONS: BUILDING
MORE COHERENT POLICIES FOR A
BETTER GROWTH MODEL
Monica Brezzi and Joaquim Oliveira Martins
OECD

2. 1. Growth and inequalities:
managing the trade-offs
2

3. Income inequality has increased in most OECD
countries and emerging market economies , also
with large differences within countries
3
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
NewZealand
Slovenia
SlovakRepublic
Finland
Hungary
Greece
Netherlands
Poland
Denmark
CzechRepublic
Japan
Switzerland
Canada
Sweden
Norway
Austria
Italy
Turkey
Australia
France
Germany
Israel
Belgium
Spain
UnitedKingdom
Mexico
Chile
UnitedStates
Country value regional valuesv v
Source: OECD(2014) How’s life in your region? forthcoming
Regional values of Gini coefficient of disposable income (2010)

4. Until the crisis, U-shaped relation between GDP
growth and income inequality in regions
4
Gini coefficient on disposable income (2010) and average annual growth of GDP per capita (2000-2007)
0.02.04.06.08.1
AverageannualgrowthrateofGDPpercapita(2000-2007)
.2 .3 .4 .5 .6
Gini on disposable household income
Source: OECD(2014) How’s life in your region? forthcoming
Note: dots represent OECD regions
CHL, USA
Eastern Europe
SVK, CZE
Nordic Countries
Continental and
Southern Europe

5. 2. Integrating the economic, social
and environmental dimensions:
building complementarities
5

6. Complementarities need to be constructed through
appropriate design
6
Well-
being
Econo
mic
Green growth
Environ
ment
Social-ecology
Social
Inclusive
growth
DIMENSIONS CITIES RUR
AL
AREA
S
Economic + -
Environment - +
Social – public
goods (health,
education, etc.)
+ -
Social –
community
produced goods
(trust, security,
social
connections)
- +
• Evidence shows that life satisfaction is
higher in countries with a more balanced
distribution of well-being outcomes among
the 3 dimensions (the estimated coefficient
of dispersion across the well-being
dimensions is significantly negative).

7. Inclusive growth
• Active labour market policies (ALMPs) can facilitate a better match of
jobs with skills, thus lowering unemployment and making a strong
contribution to social equality. They are more effective when designed at the
regional or local levels, since information about local conditions is crucial to
success.
Green growth
• Integrating land-use, transport and business infrastructure policies
can contribute to outcomes that are greener (increasing reliance on public
transport), more equitable (improving access to labour markets for
disadvantaged areas) and more efficient (reducing congestion and
commuting times, etc.).
Social-ecology
• To integrate economic and social objectives, carbon taxes could be
complemented with instruments that address both individuals and
places. In fact, the fuel poverty indicator (% of households that spend more
than 30% on energy) shows a link between individual (income) and places
characteristics.
Place-based policies can help transforming
trade-off in complementarities
7

8. 3. Using regional well-being
metrics for a better growth
model
8

9. 9
How do we measure regional well-being?
Individuals’
characteristics
Place characteristics
People’s well-being
People’s well-being is composed of many dimensions
These dimensions
have synergies and
can reinforce each
other
Including institutions,
governance and citizenship

10. OECD publication How’s life in your region?
Identify 11 dimensions and
indicators for OECD countries
 OECD work on
regional inequalities
“How’s life in your region? Measuring regional and local well-
being for policy making”
(FINAL REPORT SEPTEMBER 2014)
Common
framework
to
measure
well-being
Guidance for
policymakers and
citizens to use these
indicators for more
effective policies to
improve people’s
lives
INTERACTIVE
WEBSITE
Internationally
comparable
indicators in
regions and cities
Seven case studies
of regions using
well-being metrics
for policy making
www.OECDregionalwellbeing.org

11. 1. Wide consultation on objectives and ways to
meet them
2. Citizens engagement also in monitoring
progress and contributing to changes
3. Coordination across levels of government,
sectors and across jurisdictions
4. Institutional changes informed also from the
territory
5. Open data
Using well-being metrics in policy making
11