OECD
World
Forum
onon
Key
Indicators
OECD
World
Forum
Key
Indicators
Statistics,
Statistics,Knowledge
Knowledgeand
andPolicy
Policy
Palermo,
10-13
November
2004
Palermo,
10-13
November
2004
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
1
Towards an Atlas of
Social Capital and Institutions
in Italy: Strategy, Developments
and Open Issues
Alessandra Righi
Istat
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
2
Interest in Social Capital
• The concept is increasingly used at local policy
level (Institutions, Social Networks, Territorial
pacts, Business incubators)
• It is a common ground for Sociology, Political
Science and Economics and it seems possible a
converging collaboration using simplifying models
• Research results show that SC can explain
differences in productive organisation, in
economic development and inequities in social
life
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
3
Istat Social Capital Project
• Given the large scientific interest and the
growing pressure exercised by national and
international organisations and although there
are different national studies and measurement
of SC at local level, we decided to make a SC
project with the following
characteristics:
reproducibility, quality, reliability
• We proposed an Atlas of Local Development
through information on the presence of
Institutions, the availability of infrastructures, the
quality of life, the awareness of Social Capital
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
4
Key element of the Project
•
Analysis of presence/absence of Institutions
and Social Networks and their interactions with
Local Development
Moreover, we want to analyse the interactions
among these three variables

Use the potential of a GIS to choose the better
territorial aggregation of local areas for a better
understanding
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
5
Developments of the Project
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Creating a research network
Finding data sources
Proposing a working definition
Defining dimensions, themes and indicators
Analysing the information needs
Choosing the territorial level of analysis
Defining measurement process
Choosing the forms of dissemination
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
6
Matrix of Sources
SURVEY
Aspects of daily life
Family, social subjects and childhood condition
Health conditions and use of health services
Leisure time and culture 1995
Citizens and leisure time 2000
Citizens’ safety
Time Use
ECHP
Labour Force Quarterly Survey
Labour Force Continue Survey
Household Budget Survey
Household Budget Survey - Quest. On Life cond.
School to work transitions of upper secondary
school graduates Survey
School to work transitions of university graduates
(long degree) Survey
School to work transitions of university graduates
(short degree) Survey
Administrative Sources (Pop. Census, No profit
institutions Census)
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
Observed
Period
1993 - 2002
1988 (2003)
1994, 2000
1995
2000
1997/1998
2002
1994 -2000
2003
2003
2002
2002
1995
1995
1996
Various
Years
7
Questions databank
Main dimensions of S.C.
Other dimensions
of Atlas
1) Social participation
2) Civic participation
1) Human Capital
3) Social networks, support
4) Trust, reciprocity
2) Social/economic
Integration
5) Control and self-efficacy
3) Communications
4) Institutions and private
6) Perception of social
economic sector
struct. and public services
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
8
Tab. 2 – Matrix of main dimension and themes of social capital in Istat surveys and administrative sources
Surveys
Family,
social
subjects
and
childhood
condition
Aspects
of daily
life
Participation in groups
Participation,
Formal Volunteering
Social
engagement Religious practice
Voting
Political participation
Civic
participation Funding
Parental, neighbour and
Social
friend networks
interactions,
social
Receipt of unpaid help
networks and
supports
Provision of unpaid help
Trust in other people and
in public services
Perceived fairness of life,
discrimination
Positive attitudes toward
Trust,
the future
reciprocity,
social values Perception of social values
Control and
self-efficacy Subjective aspects
Perception of
social
structures and Quality of public services
public services and of local area
Administrative source
Health
conditio
ns and
use of
Leisure Citizen
Time
Survey
health
time and s’
services culture safety Use ECHP HBS on Birth
School to
work
transitions
(upper
No profit
sec.&
institutions
univ.grad.) Census
Volunteerig
Organization
Survey
Admin.
source
10
4
-
2
-
2
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
10
1
6
9
1
6
1
-
1
-
1
8
-
-
6
5
-
1
1
-
-
-
-
7
-
1
-
6
-
13
32
2
23
2
16
4
-
-
1
-
-
-
-
13
3
-
-
4
2
10
-
-
-
-
1
4
-
-
-
3
3
-
-
-
-
-
1
9
1
-
-
4
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
-
-
-
-
-
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
2
1
-
-
-
-
7
-
-
-
-
-
-
10
4
10
3
-
11
12
1
4
1
6
-
-
35
3
-
-
30
-
-
2
4
-
-
-
-
Outlines
• Two groups of themes:
1) those with many questions in one single survey that do
not allow for a wide comparison on several sources
2) those with few questions for each survey for which it is
possible a comparison
• More than 60 sub-themes identified
• The greatest gaps in “Reciprocity and Trust”
• Surveys give result at regional level. To increase
territorial detail we could acting ex-post on weights
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
10
Matrix enables
• to select questions that provide the best results
and to add them in SC ad hoc modules of the
“GHS”
• comparisons in a national and international
contest, to better understand the differences in
question wording that could lead to differences
in comparing the results
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
11
Open Issues
• The SC matrix, with the gathering in a database
of about 400 questions, has been a necessary
effort for starting with a clear definition and
measurement path
• The use of this tool will be complete when
quantitative information relative to each
questions or indicator will be available
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
12
Open Issues
• Which is the best measuring approach in
statistical terms?
• Are we able to choose the best territorial
aggregation offered by GIS in order to
understand the interactions among Institution,
SC and Local Development?
• Are we able to best use explanatory potentials of
different indicators for different local areas?
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
13
Relevance of an International network
• Some countries have already developed different
steps in these studies. Some NSIs faced the
same problems and frequently they synthetize
their experiences with guidelines
• For a newly come NSI it is difficult to decide which
is the best strategy of approach
• To discuss these guidelines can contribute to
choose the direction to follow
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
14
Relevance of an International network
• Many choices at any step of the project :
definition, methods, questions, ad hoc module,
questionnaire (dimension and periodicity)
• An international permanent group can support
members in problem solving
• In SC studies OECD and Siena Group have
already been an important international role to
create harmonised measurements
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
15
International measurement
• It is difficult to say at what extent it is possible an
internationally comparable measure of SC
because of cross cultural differences in the
meaning of some SC dimensions (i.e. Trust)
• Many difficulties could be overcome introducing a
larger subset of indicators: not only an indicator for
each SC main dimensions, but combinations of
different indicators in order to consider specificities:
for different countries (Mediterranean, transition,
etc.), for gender,...
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
16
International web forum on SC
Like UNDP is doing for HDI with the
HDRStatsNet,
an international expert forum
created to discuss issues related to measuring
human development, including how to calculate
the composite HD indexes, innovations in
adapting these indexes to local contexts,
measuring MDG progress, good methodological
practices
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
17