Not just GDP. To evaluate the quality of life of citizens, it is not enough to establish the weight of the goods and services produced by the country in a year. We need other indicators of well-being to be associated with the gross domestic product. It has been talked about for years in various international fora – from the OECD to the UN – but so far there has been no agreement on what these indicators of popular serenity should be. In the general uncertainty, it was Italy that took up the challenge.
As required by the 20016 Budget Law, a committee of experts has identified 12 "Indicators of fair and sustainable well-being", based on the work carried out over the years by Istat and Cnel. The draft decree of the Ministry of the Economy with the indicators was sent to the House and Senate Budget Committees in the summer, which gave a favorable opinion. While waiting for the Treasury decree, in the meantime the government has included the first four indicators in the Def on an experimental basis.
Here they are:
1) Average disposable income.
2) Income inequality index.
3) Non-participation rate at work.
4) Emissions of CO2 and other gases that alter the climate.
The Mef, by 15 February, will evaluate for the first time what impact the measures of the budget law have had with respect to these parameters. After that, with the Def 2018, the other eight indicators will be introduced:
5) Unauthorized building index, to measure the deterioration of the soil and landscape.
6) Absolute poverty index, to determine the effectiveness of policies against social exclusion.
7) Healthy life expectancy, to evaluate the quality of survival, in a phase in which the population is ageing.
8) Female employment, which helps to evaluate the effectiveness of welfare services for home-work reconciliation.
9) Overweight and obesity, a relevant risk factor for various chronic diseases.
10) Early exit from education, ie the percentage of the population aged between 18 and 24 with at most a secondary school diploma.
11) Predatory crime, which measures the incidence of home burglaries, pickpocketing and robberies to assess personal safety, with the aim of considering the effects of petty crime.
12) Efficiency of civil justice, chosen to evaluate the relationship between citizens and the state.
