OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, November

OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, November Social inclusion – do we have the right indicators? Bjørn Hvinden Professor, NTNU (Norway)

OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, November What is a social indicator? A piece of statistical information throwing light on an important social phenomenon in a simple and compact way Should give decision-makers, journalists, and the general public an idea about the state or change in this phenomenon, and allow for comparisons, e.g. cross-nationally Should be readily available, updated regularly, and easy to understand for others than technical specialists

OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, November Which indicators are provided? Considerations affecting number & kind of indicators: - Costs and availability – a preference for statistical information based on administrative registers, rather than survey-based information? Versus - Ideas about the nature of the phenomenon in question – necessary with ’proxies’? Unhappy compromises between the ideally desirable and the economically and technically most feasible?

OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, November Illustration: persistent poverty as indicator of social exclusion Persistent poverty is often treated as indicator of social exclusion in Europe Durable low income is seen as a key aspect of social exclusion, or at least strongly associated with social exclusion But one may also ask whether persistent poverty is used because statistical data about incomes are readily available If so, there could be other aspects, causes or consequences of exclusion which are given less attention

OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, November Quantity versus relevance of indicators With access to registers with population statistics, many indicators may be produced at limited costs Information overload and actual under-use? Few key indicators most desirable? A guarded yes; important social phenomena are complex or ambiguous Essential information may be lost with only one indicator for these Complementary pairs of indicators are called for!

OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, November Illustrations of the need for complementary indicators Gender equality in employment: - Gap between employment rates for women and men - Gap between hours worked per week by women and men Economic exclusion of disadvantaged groups: - Recipiency rates for (particular) income maintenance benefits (e.g. disability benefits) - Inactivity rates for the group in question (e.g. people with impairments)

OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, November What should indicators of social inclusion capture? To be socially included: to participate in important social arenas, be part of significant social relationships and through this, able to live a full human life Social exclusion: one is prevented from or denied full participation in such arenas and relationships, and consequently, is unable to live a full human life; this being a situation of some duration or permanence What appears to be voluntary withdrawal from arenas and relationships may conceal de facto exclusion Indicators of social inclusion (or exclusion) should be sensitive to this variety and complexity

OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, November From characteristics of individuals to social contexts? Most indicators on social inclusion (or exclusion) deal with individual characteristics (income, relation to paid work, education, health, family situation, social contacts, etc.) More rarely do indicators describe the social contexts or environments where these individuals operate (or would like to operate) For many purposes, e.g. policy reforms and design of new measures, the latter may be equally or even more relevant

OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, November Illustration: indicators on inclusion of people with impairments Together with some ethnic minorities, people with impairments are among those most exposed to exclusion in Europe An international shift in the way of conceptualising ’disability’, stimulated among others by innovative work by the WHO (ICF) As a result, social indicators are to a growing extent addressing the contexts and environments of people with impairments, understood as facilitators and hindrances of participation

OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, November Illustration (cont.): inclusion of people with impairments How to design survey interviews to highlight social contexts and environments as facilitators and barriers? 1) A set of screening or filter questions to identify respondents with impairments 2) These respondents are asked a module of questions of specific aspects of environments, e.g. issues of access, usability & requirements for adjustments, in the contexts of education, employment, social participation, transport, goods and services, etc. Facilitators: “what makes it easier to participate” Barriers: “what makes it harder to participate” (including products, technology, person support, attitudes, natural environment, services, systems and policies)

OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, November Illustration (cont.): inclusion of people with impairments Examples of use of this methodology: Statistics Canada (2001) Participation and Activity Limitation Survey SINTEF Norway / University of Nambia (2003) Living conditions among people with disabilities in Nambia Statistics Norway (2003, 2004) Disabled people in the labour market – results form an ad hoc module in the Labour Force Survey 2nd quarter in 2002, 2003 & 2004

OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, November Illustration (cont.): inclusion of people with impairments Examples of indicators of inclusion from the use of this methodology (Statistics Norway 2003): Proportion of people with impairments in employment compared to the total population years (2002: 47 % and 80 % resp.) Proportion of people with impairments in employment who had had adjustments in work arrangements (2002: 42 %); work tasks (12%), working hours (20%), physical arrangements (11%) Proportion of people with impairments in employment with adjustments made who required additional adjustments in work arrangements (2002: 17 %) Proportion of people with impairments in employment without adjustments who required adjustments in work arrangements (2002: 16 %) Proportion of people with impairments outside employment who wished to work and would require adjustments in work arrangements (2002: 30 %)

OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, November Illustration (cont.): inclusion of people with impairments Compare with Eurostat: Labour Force Survey – 2002 ad hoc module on employment of disabled people, where questions included: Whether some sort of assistance is needed to work Type of assistance provided/needed to work: - Assistance with kind of work - Assistance with amount of work - Assistance with mobility to get to and from work - Support and understanding by superiors and colleagues - Other

OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, November Concluding remarks As suggested by Sen, Nussbaum & Salais, social indicators should to a greater extent focus on people’s capabilities; i.e. their actual scope to use resources to improve their own well-being and gain more control over their life in a longer time perspective – effective freedom Social exclusion as capability deprivation Indicators of social inclusion (or exclusion) should to a greater extent adopt a multilevel perspective, as is currently done in research on social capital