Open Data for the
Measurement of Social Progress

A very old problem…
"Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and
community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross national
product […] counts air pollution and cigarette advertising [….] It counts the
destruction of our redwoods and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It
counts napalm and the cost of a nuclear warhead, and armored cars for police who
fight riots in our streets. […]
"Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the
quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of
our poetry or the strength of our marriages […]. It measures everything, in short,
except that which makes life worthwhile. [….] "

A very old problem…
"Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and
community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross national
product […] counts air pollution and cigarette advertising [….] It counts the
destruction of our redwoods and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It
counts napalm and the cost of a nuclear warhead, and armored cars for police who
fight riots in our streets. […]
"Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the
quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of
our poetry or the strength of our marriages […]. It measures everything, in short,
except that which makes life worthwhile. [….] "
Robert F. Kennedy 1968

…and still being discussed!
"Development as Freedom" – Sen (1998)
Beyond GDP Conference – Measuring Progress in a Changing World (2007):
European Commission, European Parliament, Club of Rome, OECD and WWF
"The commonly used statistics may not be capturing some phenomena, which have
an increasing impact on the well-being of citizens." […] "Well-being is
multidimensional"
Stiglitz, Sen and Fitoussi (2009)

GDP as a travelling "Fact"
- Early development economics (end 19th century-1970):
The age of economic measurement and the “invention” of the third world
Raw economic measure, no role for sustainability

GDP as a travelling "Fact"
- Early development economics (end 19th century-1970):
The age of economic measurement and the “invention” of the third world
Raw economic measure, no role for sustainability
- Gradual paradigm shift:
Brundtland Report (1987): Development + Environment
Human Development Report (1990): Income + Education + Health
Human Development Report (2010): + Inequality
+ many other composite indices: Genuine Progress Index, Happiness Index,
Green GDP, Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare etc……

GDP as a travelling "Fact"
- Early development economics (end 19th century-1970):
The age of economic measurement and the “invention” of the third world
Raw economic measure, no role for sustainability
- Gradual paradigm shift:
Brundtland Report (1987): Development + Environment
Human Development Report (1990): Income + Education + Health
Human Development Report (2010): + Inequality
+ many other composite indices: Genuine Progress Index, Happiness Index,
Green GDP, Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare etc……
So how did it survive?

So how did GDP survive through the years?
Wolfers (undated)

So how did GDP survive through the years?
Georgiadis et al. (2010)

So how did GDP survive through the years?

Large variation in what actually matters to people!

How can we harness open data and ICT to
(re-) define social progress?

Ulla Rosenström (Finnish Prime Minister’s Office)
Vincent Finat-Duclos (OECD Better Life Index)
Robin Houston (Rio+20 Better or Worse + Carbonmap)
Dirk Heine (Yourtopia / OKFN Open Economics)
Guo Xu (LSE + OKFN Open Economics)