OECD Conference on New Frontiers in Subjective Well-being Measurement, 4 March 2024, Paris, France

1. INCLUSION OF DOMAIN SATISFACTION INDICATORS IN THE
BES FRAMEWORK TO MEASURE WELL-BEING IN ITALY
NEW FRONTIERS IN SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING MEASUREMENT
Paris, 4th March 2024
Istat | Italian National Institute of Statistics
ALESSANDRA TINTO

2. The system of social surveys in Italy
o For decades in Italy, the national statistical system has been completely focused on
objective indicators for the support of the economic policies of the government.
o In the eighties, as a consequence of the development of the social indicator movement,
Istat implemented for the first time multipurpose surveys on households and individuals.
o In 1993 Istat, with the aim of monitoring citizens’ quality of life, starts a “System of
multipurpose surveys” articulated in seven social surveys: the annual Aspects of daily
life; the quarterly Trips, holidays and daily life; and five thematic surveys carried out
regularly to cover very relevant subjects (Health conditions and use of medical services;
Citizens and leisure time; Safety of citizens; Household and social subjects; Time use).
o The improvements allowed official statistics to be ready to answer to the growing
demand of having reliable and valid measures of well-being and societal progress.
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3. 3 INCLUSION OF DOMAIN SATISFACTION INDICATORS IN THE BES FRAMEWORK TO MEASURE WELL-BEING IN ITALY | ALESSANDRA TINTO
In December 2010 Italy launched the Bes project to measure
Equitable and Sustainable well-being (ESW/Bes).
• A system of indicators to provide a shared view of the well-being
of the Italian society, useful for targeting policies was set-up.
• Built through a participative process, based on debate and
shared with the scientific community, civil society and general
population.
• key dimensions of well-being and measures of inequality and
socioeconomic/environmental sustainability to complement GDP
were defined.
The Bes project: measuring Equitable and Sustainable well-being in Italy (Bes)

4. The Bes project: 3-stage path
For each domain, choice of a set
of indicators of high statistical
quality.
To define the most relevant
domains of well-being
To select a set of high-
quality statistical indicators
Communicating and
disseminating results
Dissemination of results through
the web, publications, dashboard
for data visualisation, meetings,
conferences.
What does well-being mean in
Italy?
Elaborate a shared definition of
well-being through the identification
of the domains that represent it.
12 DOMAINS
1.Health 7. Safety
2.Education and training 8. Subjective well-being
3.Work and life balance 9. Landscape and cultural heritage
4.Economic well-being 10. Environment
5.Social relationships 11. Innovation research and creativity
6.Politics and institutions 12. Quality of services
TOTAL INDICATORS
130(2013) -152(2022)
Annual report on well-being in Italy.
Six-monthly update of indicators.
Web dissemination:
https://www.istat.it/en/well-being-and-
sustainability/the-measurement-of-well-
being
INCLUSION OF DOMAIN SATISFACTION INDICATORS IN THE BES FRAMEWORK TO MEASURE WELL-BEING IN ITALY | ALESSANDRA TINTO
4

5. o Subjective well-being is one of the fundamental dimensions on which the BES
framework is based and therefore not a domain like all the others. Subjective well-being
is necessarily cross-cutting across all domains.
o Since subjective well-being is a cross-domain concept, it concerns the evaluations and
perceptions expressed directly by individuals about their lives in general, but also those
referring to different areas of life, which refer to most of the BES domains.
o The Scientific Commission which was appointed to identify the BES indicators was
grouped by domain. The 'subjective well-being' group was asked to work with the other
groups to identify what subjective information could be identified to complete each area,
both in terms of opinions, trust, etc. and in terms of cognitive assessment of
subjective well-being (domain satisfaction).
The measurement of subjective well-being
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6. Subjective well-being domain
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7. Subjective well-being domain: evolution of the indicators over time
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0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
20062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022
Life satisfaction
Leisure time satisfaction
Positive judgement of future perspectives
Negative judgement of future perspectives
Subjective well-being indicators in the BES framework. Years 2006-2022
Source: Survey on Aspects of daily life.

8. Subjective measures in the other domains
8 INCLUSION OF DOMAIN SATISFACTION INDICATORS IN THE BES FRAMEWORK TO MEASURE WELL-BEING IN ITALY | ALESSANDRA TINTO
▪ Healthy life expectancy at birth
▪ Mental health index (SF36)
▪ Life expectancy without activity limitations at 65 years of age
▪ Job satisfaction
▪ Share of employed persons who feel their work unsecure
▪ Satisfaction with family relations
▪ Satisfaction with friends relations
▪ Perception of safety walking alone in the dark
▪ Perception of crime risk
▪ Dissatisfaction with the quality of landscape
▪ Concern about landscape deterioration
▪ Satisfaction for the environment
▪ Concern for biodiversity loss
▪ Concern for climate change and greenhouse effect
▪ Generalised trust
▪ Trust in parliament, judiciary system and parties
▪ Trust in police and fire brigade
SAFETY

9. 9
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Males Females 14-24 25-44 45-64 65+ Total
once a week or more more seldom never
0
10
20
30
40
50
60 14-19 20-24 25-34
35-44 45-54 55-59
60-64 65-74 75 and over
Satisfaction for friends relations
Source: Survey on Aspects of daily life.
INCLUSION OF DOMAIN SATISFACTION INDICATORS IN THE BES FRAMEWORK TO MEASURE WELL-BEING IN ITALY | ALESSANDRA TINTO
Percentage of people aged 14 and over very satisfied with friends relations and
frequency with which they meet with friends, by gender and age. Year 2022
Percentage of people aged 14 and over very satisfied with friends relations, by
age group. Years 2012 - 2022

10. o Dissatisfaction with the quality of landscape in the area of residence: Proportion of regional
population reporting that the landscape of the place where they live is affected by evident
deterioration.
It allows an analysis of the most extreme situations of discomfort, connected - in the perception
of the interviewees - to a negative characterisation of the landscape.
o Concern about landscape deterioration: Proportion of population reporting, among the
environmental problems for which they express more concern, the decay of landscape due to
overbuilding.
It can be considered an indirect indicator, intended to detect the sensitivity of the population to
the problem of landscape protection, and awareness of its status as a public good. The inclusion
of this measure in the well-being indicators is based on the consideration that this awareness is
the basis of a cultural environment favourable to landscape protection and the dissemination of
sustainable practices in land management.
Landscape and cultural heritage
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11. Satisfaction for the quality of landscape
11 INCLUSION OF DOMAIN SATISFACTION INDICATORS IN THE BES FRAMEWORK TO MEASURE WELL-BEING IN ITALY | ALESSANDRA TINTO
Piemonte
Valle d'Aosta
Liguria
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Bolzano
Trento
Veneto
Lombardia
Emilia-Romagna
Toscana
Umbria
Marche Lazio
Abruzzo
Molise
Campania
Puglia
Basilicata
Calabria Sicilia
Sardegna
ITALIA
Nord
Centro
Mezzogiorno
5
10
15
20
25
5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Concern
about
landscape
deterioration
Dissatisfaction with the quality of landscape
Dissatisfaction with the
quality of landscape in
the area of residence and
concern about landscape
deterioration, by region
and geographic area.
Year 2021. Per 100
people aged 14 and over
Source: Survey on Aspects of daily life.

12. 12
The variability of satisfaction with
environment in the area where people
live depends mainly on the area of
residence: while in the North about three
out of four citizens are satisfied, in the
South the proportion drops to two out of
three, although the gap has narrowed in
recent years.
Satisfaction for the environment
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
North-west North-east Centre South and islands
INCLUSION OF DOMAIN SATISFACTION INDICATORS IN THE BES FRAMEWORK TO MEASURE WELL-BEING IN ITALY | ALESSANDRA TINTO
Source: Survey on Aspects of daily life.
Percentage of people aged 14 and over who are very or quite satisfied with the
environment (air, water, noise) in the area where they live by area. Year 2022

13. Thank you
ALESSANDRA TINTO | tinto@istat.it