Transcript Introductory Statements - Events

Measuring Social Development in Caribbean Societies –
Some Emergent Challenges and Lessons
Author
Godfrey St. Bernard
Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies
The University of the West Indies
St. Augustine
Trinidad and Tobago
Email Contact: [email protected]
Paper presented at:
International Conference on Small States and Economic Resilience
Foundation for International Studies
Old University Building
St. Paul Street
Valletta VLT 07
MALTA
23-25 April 2007
Introductory Statements
Social Development as a universal
imperative as reinforced by the MDGs
There is a need to promote “wellness”
within Caribbean social systems and by
extension, societies
This requires careful observation and social
measurement
The paper recognizes the need to adopt a
paradigmatic framework and therefore
embraces a structural functionalist
approach rooted in Action Theory
The Content of the Paper
Provides a historical account of the production
of social indicators with particular reference
to the Caribbean
The experience of Trinidad and Tobago
Central Statistical Office
Consumer Affairs Division
The contribution of key stakeholders
Academia – the University of the West Indies
The Caribbean Development Bank
The United Nations Children’s Fund
Classifying Indicators
According to Carley (1981), social indicators can be classified
as follows:
Informative Indicators – descriptive
Predictive Indicators – empirical, association and logic of
causation
Problem-oriented Indicators – identifying systems and
populations that warrant amelioration
Programme evaluation Indicators – facilitate impact assessment
Target delineation Indicators – determine “at risk” and “at need”
populations and systems
The Central Statistical Office
Table 1.
Subject-Matter Domains by Year of Publication of Social Indicators Report
1975
Population
Health and Nutrition
Education
Employment, Earnings, Prices and
Household Expenditure Patterns
Housing and Levels of Living
Public Order
Leisure
1987
1996
Population
Education and Training
Labour force and Income
Fertility and Family Formation
Mortality and Health
Housing
Public Order and Public Safety
Population
Education and Training
Labour force and Income
Fertility and Family Formation
Mortality and Health
Housing
Public Order and Public Safety
Consumption Expenditure and
Income Distribution
Consumption Expenditure and
Income Distribution
Productivity
Transportation
The Environment
Productivity
Transportation
The Environment
Public Participation and social
Security
Public Assistance and Social
Welfare
Consumer Affairs Division
Delivery was based upon
the UN Publication
entitled “Measuring
Change in Consumption
and Production Patterns
– A Set of Indicators
Review current status of
data collection and
storage
Review National Policy
Documents
Listing Action Areas
Consumer Affairs Division
Health
Education
Living Conditions
Economic Activity
Human Settlement
Environment
Recreation and Leisure
Key Resources –
Electricity, Water,
Petroleum and Natural
Gas
Food Security
International Trade
Indicators
Consumption Indicators
Individuals and
communities meeting their
basic needs
Whether done in socially
and environmentally
friendly manner
Production Indicator
Production processes and
output environmentally
friendly, sustainable
Disposal practices of
households and companies
Meeting population needs
in socially and
environmentally friendly
manner
Living Conditions
Caribbean Development
Bank Interventions
St. Lucia (2 SLCs)
St. Vincent and the
Grenadines
Grenada
Belize
St. Kitts and Nevis (2
SLCs)
Dominica
Turks and Caicos Islands
British Virgin Islands
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Cayman Islands
Independent Initiatives
Jamaica (annually since
1988)
Trinidad and Tobago (3
SLCs)
Barbados
The Bahamas
Living Conditions
Unit of Analysis/Target
Population
Individuals
Households
Vulnerable Sub-Populations
Coverage, Estimates and
Output
Household Consumption
Expenditure
Quintile Groups
Poverty Line – Poor/NonPoor
Poverty Gap
FGT-2 Measure
Gini Co-efficients
Social Outcomes – Education,
Housing, Health and
Nutrition, Labour Force
Characteristics, Water,
Sanitation and the
Environment
Children’s Status
Multiple Indicator Cluster
Surveys (MICS)
Guyana
Suriname
Trinidad and Tobago
Monitor and Evaluate
Interventions geared
towards enhancing the
status of children
Satisfying the
requirements of specific
MDGs focusing on
children
Children’s Status
Unit of Analysis/Target
Population
Care givers
Women
Mothers
Children
Households
Coverage, Estimates and
Output
Child Health
Child Mortality
Child Development
Child Discipline
Child Care
Child Rights
Child Labour
Literacy
Education
Maternal Health
Water and Sanitation
Environment
Human Development Index
Human Capability and perhaps as an indication of overall
social development in specific social systems
Based on an Education Index, a Health Index and a Wealth
Index
Refined insofar as it has been adjusted to take into account
variations in gender inequalities across countries
Thus, has resulted in the articulation of other indices such as
the GDI and the GEM
Youth Development Index (YDI)
A feature proposed under the auspices of the
Commonwealth Secretariat
Original intention was to propose a measure
that was analogous to the GDI
More specifically, it could be used as a tool for
gauging youth empowerment and hence the
plan of action of youth empowerment
Commonwealth PAYE
PAYE recognizes the significance of enabling
conditions that assume the following forms:
the promotion of economic and material bases that are
consistent with youth empowerment
the establishment of mechanisms that will enhance
political will, facilitate the allocation of resources and
foster the adoption of critical legal and administrative
frameworks,
the development of attitudes and practices that are
consistent with equality, democracy and peace and,
the dissemination of knowledge, information, skills and
values.
Ten Action Points - PAYE
1.
To develop and implement measures to promote the economic enfranchisement of young
people and their participation in the economy
1.
To strengthen support systems and collaboration between key stakeholders in youth
empowerment
1.
To develop and strengthen youth ministries/departments, national youth policies and
legislative and constitutional provisions impacting upon youth affairs
1.
To promote positive national models and self images for young people and foster their sense
of responsibility and self esteem
1.
To promote the full participation of young people in decision making at all levels, including
communities and local provincial and national governments
1.
To take affirmative and direct action to establish gender equity for all young people, and
equality of treatment and outcome for youth in special circumstances
1.
To promote a democratic, stable and peaceful environment in which the human rights of
young people as defined in international covenants are fully implemented and in which they
can fully accept their responsibilities
1.
To engage in action for the development and maintenance of human resources and
intellectual capital
1.
To adopt measures to improve access to information and communications technology (ICT)
and provide young people with the skills to make use of it
1.
To pursue measures to broaden youth participation in sporting and cultural activities as a
means of promoting positive values and advancing human development
Further Thoughts on the YDI
Having adjusted HDI based on gender
inequalities, there should be further
adjustment to treat with variable prospects
and attainment with regard to youth
empowerment across countries
Perhaps a YDI, renamed a Youth Related
Development Index should be pursued
analogous to the GDI.
Alternatively, a YGDI – a Youth and Gender
Related Development Index could be proposed
adjusting for variations in gender inequality
and youth empowerment processes across
countries
Social Vulnerability Index
Spearheaded primarily by the United Nations
ECLAC
Social vulnerability status as characterizing
social outcomes due to the interplay between
strengths, weaknesses and opportunities on
one hand, and threats on the other
Based upon a functionalist framework where
reference is upon social systems, social
institutions and their respective sub-systems
Institutional Sub-Systems and
Indicators
The System of Education:
-
The proportion of the population 20 years and over with exposure to tertiary level education - E1.
The proportion of the population 20 years and over that has successfully completed secondary education
(i.e. highest level of educational attainment being a minimum of 5 GCE ‘O’ Level or CXC Basic Subjects
or equivalent secondary school leaving qualifications) - E2.
Adult literacy rate - population aged 15 years and over - E3.
-
The System of Health:
-
Life expectancy at birth - H1.
The System Promoting Security, Social Order and “Good” Governance:
-
Index of rule of law – S1.
Measure of minority groups' participation in the economy – S2.
Measure of new governments' respect for previous governments' commitments – S3.
The System of Resources Allocation:
-
Proportion of all children (under 15 years) belonging to the two poorest quintiles - R1.
Proportion of working age population (15-64) belonging to the two poorest quintiles with no more than
primary school education - R2.
Proportion of the population (15 years and over) belonging to the two poorest quintiles with no medical
insurance coverage - R3.
Proportion of the population belonging to the two poorest quintiles and living in households where the
head was not employed - R4.
The System of Communications Technology:
-
Computer literacy rate – population aged 15 years and over - C1.
Key Parameters for Data Collection
Data Collection
Activities
Institutional
SubSystem
Indicators
Data
Colle
ction
Proce
ss
Observati
on
Unit
Level of Analysis
Survey of Living
Condition
Education
Resources
Allocation
E1, E2
R1, R2,
R3,
R4
Sample
Surve
y
Individua
ls
Individual
Household
Nation
National Survey of
Basic and
Computer
Literacy
Education
Communicati
ons
Technolo
gy
E3
C1
Sample
Surve
y
Individua
ls
Individual
Household
Nation
National Survey of
Governance
Processes
Security,
Social
Order
and
Governa
nce
S1, S2, S3
Expert
Polls
Experts
Nation
Official Vital
Statistics Mortality
Health
H1
Existing
Data
Civil
Regis
tratio
n
Nation
Emergent Questions and Concerns
Is there a basis for developing a composite
index bearing in mind environmental,
economic and social vulnerability measures?
Is there a basis for developing a composite
index of environmental, economic and sociaql
resilience?
Having adjusted the HDI to take into account
gender inequalities in order to arrive at the
GDI. A further recommendation in this paper
has been the need to also take into account
adjustment of the HDI to take into account
variations in youth empowerment to arrive a
YDI
Emergent Questions and Concerns
Should consideration be now given to
obtaining holistic measures of vulnerability
and resilience to permit further adjustments as
means of further refining the HDI?
Further Challenges
There is need for additional sample surveys targeting
adult literacy, the computation of disability-free life
years lived, access to ICT, and governance indicators
There are also concerns about the reliability and validity
of emergent estimates and indicators due to the quality
of survey administration, the capabilities of technical
skills involved in the conduct of survey research and the
pursuit of survey data analysis
There is need to consider harmonization prospects for
concepts and definitions given different data collection
standards and protocols across the Caribbean Region,
especially with respect to the pursuit of comparative
analyses
Thank You