Family Outcomes and Policies
Purpose
To include cross-national information on family outcomes and policies as categorised under 4 broad headings: the structure of families, families and children, the labour market position of families, public policies for families and children, and child outcomes.
Objectives and outputs
Following up on the OECD Babies and Bosses reviews on the reconciliation of work and family life in selected Member States, and in view of the strong demand for cross-national indicators on the situation of families and children, the OECD has developed an on-line database on family outcomes and family policies with indicators for all OECD countries. The database brings together information from different OECD databases (for example, the OECD Social Expenditure database, the OECD Benefits and Wages database, or the OECD Education database), and databases maintained by other international organisations.
Development of the database is an ongoing process. The first batch of indicators on policies and outcomes was released in 2006. The database now has 58 online indicators containing information on the structure of families and demographic behavioural trends, public policies for families, the employment status of the latter, and child outcomes.
By the end of 2010, we produced 5 new indicators and updated 15 existing indicators.
In addition, in 2010, the database launched its "country snapshots". This tool allows data users to assess countries' position with respect to the OECD average. The assessment can be done using 16 indicators from the four different areas of the OECD Family database.
Child well-being indicators for children in OECD countries are also being constructed. These indicators belong to 6 different dimensions: material well-being; housing and environment; education; health; risk behaviours; and quality of school life. More via www.oecd.org/els/social/childwellbeing.
Databases
OECD Family Database and Child Wellbeing
Main Developments for 2011
General aspects:
In 2011, we will continue to develop new indicators and we will update around 30 of the already existent indicators.
We will develop a family support calculator which will consider comprehensive indicators on financial support through tax/benefit systems for model type families with different earnings.
The Family database will migrate to Access (SQL platform) to facilitate updating indicators.
Income Distribution and Poverty
Purpose
Analysis of main trends in the distribution of incomes from 1980s, based upon the OECD Income Distribution Questionnaire (irregular time intervals, every 4-5 years).
Objectives and outputs
Following the release in October 2008 of "Growing Unequal? Income Distribution and Poverty in OECD Countries", maintenance work and adjustments were carried out on the database. A data update on late 2000s data was carried out in 2010 on a key series of the questionnaire, as a basis for the 2011 Social Policy ministerial. Data will be released during Winter 2011.
Databases
OECD Income Distribution questionnaire
Main Developments for 2011
General aspects:
A data update on late 2000s data was carried out in 2010 on a key series of the questionnaire, as a basis for the 2011 Social Policy ministerial.
In 2010, we gathered comparable results for the accession countries, on the basis of the Income Distribution Questionnaire.
New data will be released during Winter 2011.
Data management:
Metadata in:
http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=INEQUALITY
http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=POVERTY
are regularly updated following comments from users.
Guidelines on the Measurement of Subjective Well-being
Purpose
To prepare a set of guidelines on the collection and use of measures of subjective well-being (SWB) that will be the recognised standard adopted by national statistical agencies and other producers and users of survey-based subjective well-being data.
Objectives and outputs
This activity was endorsed by the OECD Committee on Statistics in 2010. The main purpose is the development of a set of guidelines on the collection and reporting of subjective measures of well-being. The guidelines will include prototype survey modules for different types of survey.
Main Developments for 2011
General aspects:
2011 will see a draft set of prototype survey modules developed and circulated to Eurostat and other statistical agencies involved in the project. A draft handbook will be developed during the course of the year, but the final version will not be completed until early in 2012. However, a progress report will be presented to CSTAT in June 2011.
Social Indicators
Purpose
Social indicators have been developed to provide the broad perspective needed for any international comparison and assessment of social trends, outcomes and policies. By linking social status and social response indicators across a broad range of policy areas, social indicators help to identify whether and how the broad thrust of social policies and societal actions are addressing key social policy issues.
Objectives and outputs
The sixth edition of Society at a Glance, the biennial OECD overview of social indicators will be published in April 2011.
This report addresses the growing demand for quantitative evidence on social well-being and its trends. It updates some indicators included in the five editions published since 2001 and introduces several new ones.
The 2011 report heralds the arrival of four new OECD member countries Chile, Estonia, Israel and Slovenia. These countries are included in Society at a Glance for the first time. Data on Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa is also included where available.
This report features a special chapter on unpaid work (Chapter 1). It also provides a guide to help readers in understanding the structure of OECD social indicators (Chapter 2), and a summary of the main trends (Chapter 3). More detailed information on all indicators, including those not in this edition, can be found on the OECD web pages (www.oecd.org/els/social/indicators).
Society at a Glance - Asia/Pacific Edition 2011, a joint OECD/Korea Policy Centre publication, will also be published in 2011 - it offers a concise quantitative overview of social trends and policies across Asia-Pacific economies.
Databases
Social indicators
Main Developments for 2011
Data collection:
Data update every other year (data update in 2010).