Methodology

Where do QoL data come from?

The data presented here come from several sources from the European Statistical System (ESS):

• EU statistics on income and living conditions
• EU labour force survey 
• European Health Interview Survey
• administrative sources.

If there are no data from the ESS, external links to non-ESS sources, such as the European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS), are used as placeholders.

How can QoL be measured?

Statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) play a central role in collecting high-quality data about people's quality of life, wellbeing, and their improved measurement. This is emphasised in the 'GDP and beyond' Communication, the SSF Commission recommendations, by the Sponsorship Group on 'Measuring Progress, Wellbeing and Sustainable Development' and in the  Sofia memorandum.

Thus, a key objective is the collection of microdata on wellbeing, gathered at personal and household level through surveys.

Building on the recommendations set out in Final Report of the Expert Group on Quality of life indicators on multidimensional measurement of the quality of life, a set of indicators was developed and organised along 8 + 1 statistically measurable dimensions (see below). These indicators could be ‘subjective’ or ‘objective’.

Objective versus subjective indicators

Indicators are usually considered to be either objective or subjective. Ultimately, objective situations and subjective perceptions combine to determine an individual's wellbeing. There is now an consensus that both dimensions matter and should be measured by statistical offices within an overall framework.

Some indicators, such as income, are clearly objective. Others, such as life satisfaction, are subjective. However, measurement methods often blur the boundary. This apparently simple distinction is thus more complex than it appears. Some clarification may thus be useful, to avoid inconclusive debates.

We can distinguish between:

• the nature of the phenomenon - objective, such as air pollution or subjective, like emotions 
• how information is collected - from objective sources such as tax registers, or through self-reported questionnaires, such as the assessment of global limitation in activities.

We are therefore considering an analytical framework including these 2 dimensions:

This table illustrates the analytical framework. Several indicators proposed in the framework belong in the top left-hand part of the table (objective situation and objective measure). Income or homicides are examples.

Others belong in the lower left-hand part of the table (subjective phenomenon, subjective reporting). Satisfaction indicators or feelings of safety are examples.

However, many components within this analytical framework focus on objective phenomena, such as skills or health, but are self-reported. It remains to be seen whether these will be classed as subjective or objective.