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A Life Devoted to Quality of LifeProgress: Concept and Measurement

A Life Devoted to Quality of Life: Progress: Concept and Measurement [The idea of progress, which is usually considered to be a child of the age of enlightenment and a ‘trademark’ of modernity, has seen a remarkable revival in recent years in conceptual as well as measurement terms. Apparently, the renewed interest is closely related to the currently flourishing debate on well-being and its measurement ‘beyond GDP’. In its first conceptual part, this article presents a brief review of the history and the different notions of the idea of progress and discusses also current views and discourses concerning the meaning of progress in our contemporary societies. In its second part, the article addresses measurement issues and distinguishes different measurement approaches. While focusing on the crucial issue of unidimensional measurement of a multidimensional concept like progress, two approaches are discussed in more detail: composite indices and life satisfaction as a summary measure of subjective well-being. Whereas the construction of composite indices is confronted with various methodological challenges, some of them apparently not yet sufficiently met, life satisfaction turns out to be a poor measure of progress, due to its insensitivity to change and particular susceptibility to adaptation mechanisms.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

A Life Devoted to Quality of LifeProgress: Concept and Measurement

Part of the Social Indicators Research Series Book Series (volume 60)
Editors: Maggino, Filomena

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References (12)

Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Copyright
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
ISBN
978-3-319-20567-0
Pages
93 –104
DOI
10.1007/978-3-319-20568-7_6
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[The idea of progress, which is usually considered to be a child of the age of enlightenment and a ‘trademark’ of modernity, has seen a remarkable revival in recent years in conceptual as well as measurement terms. Apparently, the renewed interest is closely related to the currently flourishing debate on well-being and its measurement ‘beyond GDP’. In its first conceptual part, this article presents a brief review of the history and the different notions of the idea of progress and discusses also current views and discourses concerning the meaning of progress in our contemporary societies. In its second part, the article addresses measurement issues and distinguishes different measurement approaches. While focusing on the crucial issue of unidimensional measurement of a multidimensional concept like progress, two approaches are discussed in more detail: composite indices and life satisfaction as a summary measure of subjective well-being. Whereas the construction of composite indices is confronted with various methodological challenges, some of them apparently not yet sufficiently met, life satisfaction turns out to be a poor measure of progress, due to its insensitivity to change and particular susceptibility to adaptation mechanisms.]

Published: Jun 29, 2015

Keywords: Societal progress; Social progress; Measurement of progress; Social indicators; Composite index; Subjective well-being indicators

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