Regional Quality of Life in the EU: Comprehending the European space beyond GDP through the capability approach

Tomas Hanell

Regional Quality of Life in the EU: Comprehending the European space beyond GDP through the capability approach

Julkaisun otsikon käännös: Regional Quality of Life in the EU - Comprehending the European space beyond GDP through the capability approach

Tomas Hanell

Tutkimustuotos: Doctoral Thesis › Monograph

Abstrakti

Euroopan Unionin (EU) puitteissa toteutettavat alueelliset rakennepoliittiset ohjelmat ja strategiat väittävät tähtäävänsä kansalaisten elämänlaadun säilyttämiseen tai lisäämiseen. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena on osoittaa, että näissä ohjelmissa ja strategioissa käytettävät tilastolliset mittarit eivät kykene arvioimaan kyseisiä tavoitteita. Tutkimus perustuu seuraaviin lähtökohtiin: - numeerinen tieto on yhteiskunnan ensisijainen päätöksenteon väline, riippumatta siitä, pidämmekö tästä vai emme, mistä johtuu että; - tahto vaikuttaa johonkin edellyttää tämän numeerista mittausta; - EU-tason aluepolitiikka ja siihen liittyvät strategiat väittävät nimenomaisesti tähtäävänsä kansalaisten elämänlaadun parantamiseen tai säilyttämiseen, mistä voi johtaa että; - arviointi siitä, missä määrin nämä käytännössä kykenevät käsittelemään aihetta numeerisesti, on itsessään perusteltu tavoite. Laajassa kirjallisuuskatsauksessa korostuu, että tietyllä teoreettisella lähestymistavalla on huomattava vaikutus myös elämänlaadun tilastollisen mittauksen konkreettiseen lopputulokseen. Katsaus ilmentää myös teoriaan sitoutumattoman mittauksen runsautta ja kyseenalaisia lopputuloksia. Tutkimus perustuu toimintamahdollisuusteoriaan. Työssä 64 eri objektiivista ja subjektiivista muuttujaa kootaan yhdeksi eurooppalaisten alueiden elämänlaatua mittaavaksi komposiitti-indeksiksi: RQLI (Regional Quality of Life Index). Indeksi kattaa kaikki jäsenmaat ja 195 EU:n sisäistä aluetta. Itsenäisten muuttujien tilastolliset painot saadaan pääkomponenttianalyysiä hyväksikäyttäen. Komposiitti-indeksin validiteetti ja reliabiliteetti todetaan riittäväksi. Monimuuttujaregressioanalyysiä hyväksikäyttäen tutkimuksessa osoitetaan selvästi, että viralliset alueelliset mittarit, joita käytetään EU:n rakennerahastojen tukikelpoisuuden määrittelemiseen ja EU 2020 -strategian seurantaan, eivät tilastollisesti kykene huomioimaan kansalaisten elämänlaatua. Eurooppalainen elämänlaadun maantiede poikkeaa suuresti siitä, mitä tavanomaisilla aluekehityksen mittareilla on totuttu näkemään. Aineiston perusteella ihmisten elämänlaadun suhde kaupungistumiseen on EU:ssa keskimäärin negatiivinen ja suhde taloudelliseen kehitykseen käytännössä neutraali. EU:n alueita on tähän asti kuvattu pääsääntöisesti mittareilla, jotka ovat mahdollistaneet äärimmäisen rajallisen kuvauksen yhteiskunnallisen ja inhimillisen kehityksen tilasta. Koska kaikki tilastolliset mittarit tapaavat ajan myötä muuttua diskursiivisiksi elementeiksi, yhteiskuntaa on ajan myötä enenevässä määrin alettu jäsentää pelkästään rahallisissa yksiköissä. Tutkimus analysoi lopuksi tilannetta, jossa kehitystyötä harjoitetaan ilman, että sen päämääriä kyetään arvioimaan. Tätä varten tutkimus luo "interventioita sidotuin silmin" -nimisen analyyttisen mallin.

Julkaisun otsikon käännös	Regional Quality of Life in the EU - Comprehending the European space beyond GDP through the capability approach
Alkuperäiskieli	Englanti
Pätevyys	Tohtorintutkinto
Myöntävä instituutio	Aalto-yliopisto
Valvoja/neuvonantaja	Mäntysalo, Raine, Vastuuprofessori Bengs, Christer, Ohjaaja
Kustantaja	Aalto University
Painoksen ISBN	978-952-60-8212-7
Sähköinen ISBN	978-952-60-8213-4
Tila	Julkaistu - 2018
OKM-julkaisutyyppi	G4 Monografiaväitöskirja

Tutkimusalat

elämänlaatu
hyvinvointi
toimintamahdollisuusteoria
komposiitti-indeksi
aluepolitiikka
Euroopan Unioni
rakennerahastot

Pääsy asiakirjaan

http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-60-8213-4Lisenssi: Määrittelemätön

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@phdthesis{1c6888f281714327988e497e96daf4a9,

title = "Regional Quality of Life in the EU: Comprehending the European space beyond GDP through the capability approach",

abstract = "The objective of this dissertation is to demonstrate that the indicators currently in use for evaluating the progress of European strategies and determining structural assistance are not – despite persistent rhetoric – able to portray levels of quality of life (QoL) in the regions of the European Union (EU). The dissertation departs from the following perspectives:- Irrespective of whether we like it or not, quantitative information constitutes the primary engine for societal decision-making.- Wanting to affect something consequently necessitates that it actually can be measured.- EU level spatial policies and strategies explicitly claim to maintain or increase quality of life; therefore,- it is a commendable objective to try to assess the degree to which they in practice are capable of addressing the issue in the first instance. The literature review highlights the practical impact that a particular theoretic approach exerts on the outcome of a measurement and demonstrates the detrimentally high frequency of atheoretical ad hoc measurement of QoL. The study builds on the capability approach. By means of a PCA-based weighting procedure, 64 subjective and objective substance variables are aggregated into an overall metric of regional quality of life: the Regional Quality of Life Index (RQLI). Data are available for 195 regions covering all 28 EU Member States. The RQLI is evaluated in terms of its validity and reliability and is assessed as meeting both criteria. Using multiple linear regression, the analysis demonstrates consistently that regional indicators currently in use for evaluating the progress of the Europe 2020 Strategy and for determining Structural Fund eligibility are not able to shed light on regional levels of quality of life in the EU. Spatial patterns of QoL emerging from the analysis are highly incongruent with what has hitherto been observed by means of traditional metrics. Furthermore, urbanisation and agglomeration economies are demonstrably assessed to have little to do with the quality of life of citizens. It is argued that an important reason for this discrepancy is that depictions of the EU territory have hitherto been based on a limited interpretation of societal and human development. This has advocated a way of comprehending the society in terms of monetary units alone. As measurement instruments in general have a tendency to become discursive elements in themselves, this tendency has far reaching implications. Since policy interventions claim to maintain or increase the QoL of the citizens, the dissertation finally discusses the implications of conducting policy without an awareness of the factual levels of QoL. It introduces an analytic taxonomy of policy {"}interventions with a blindfold{"}.",

keywords = "quality of life, well-being, capability approach, composite index, regional policy, European Union, EU2020, structural funds, el{\"a}m{\"a}nlaatu, hyvinvointi, toimintamahdollisuusteoria, komposiitti-indeksi, aluepolitiikka, Euroopan Unioni, rakennerahastot, quality of life, well-being, capability approach, composite index, regional policy, European Union, EU2020, structural funds",

author = "Tomas Hanell",

year = "2018",

language = "English",

isbn = "978-952-60-8212-7",

series = "Aalto University publication series DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS",

publisher = "Aalto University",

number = "190",

address = "Finland",

school = "Aalto University",

}

TY - BOOK

T1 - Regional Quality of Life in the EU

T2 - Comprehending the European space beyond GDP through the capability approach

AU - Hanell, Tomas

PY - 2018

Y1 - 2018

N2 - The objective of this dissertation is to demonstrate that the indicators currently in use for evaluating the progress of European strategies and determining structural assistance are not – despite persistent rhetoric – able to portray levels of quality of life (QoL) in the regions of the European Union (EU). The dissertation departs from the following perspectives:- Irrespective of whether we like it or not, quantitative information constitutes the primary engine for societal decision-making.- Wanting to affect something consequently necessitates that it actually can be measured.- EU level spatial policies and strategies explicitly claim to maintain or increase quality of life; therefore,- it is a commendable objective to try to assess the degree to which they in practice are capable of addressing the issue in the first instance. The literature review highlights the practical impact that a particular theoretic approach exerts on the outcome of a measurement and demonstrates the detrimentally high frequency of atheoretical ad hoc measurement of QoL. The study builds on the capability approach. By means of a PCA-based weighting procedure, 64 subjective and objective substance variables are aggregated into an overall metric of regional quality of life: the Regional Quality of Life Index (RQLI). Data are available for 195 regions covering all 28 EU Member States. The RQLI is evaluated in terms of its validity and reliability and is assessed as meeting both criteria. Using multiple linear regression, the analysis demonstrates consistently that regional indicators currently in use for evaluating the progress of the Europe 2020 Strategy and for determining Structural Fund eligibility are not able to shed light on regional levels of quality of life in the EU. Spatial patterns of QoL emerging from the analysis are highly incongruent with what has hitherto been observed by means of traditional metrics. Furthermore, urbanisation and agglomeration economies are demonstrably assessed to have little to do with the quality of life of citizens. It is argued that an important reason for this discrepancy is that depictions of the EU territory have hitherto been based on a limited interpretation of societal and human development. This has advocated a way of comprehending the society in terms of monetary units alone. As measurement instruments in general have a tendency to become discursive elements in themselves, this tendency has far reaching implications. Since policy interventions claim to maintain or increase the QoL of the citizens, the dissertation finally discusses the implications of conducting policy without an awareness of the factual levels of QoL. It introduces an analytic taxonomy of policy "interventions with a blindfold".

AB - The objective of this dissertation is to demonstrate that the indicators currently in use for evaluating the progress of European strategies and determining structural assistance are not – despite persistent rhetoric – able to portray levels of quality of life (QoL) in the regions of the European Union (EU). The dissertation departs from the following perspectives:- Irrespective of whether we like it or not, quantitative information constitutes the primary engine for societal decision-making.- Wanting to affect something consequently necessitates that it actually can be measured.- EU level spatial policies and strategies explicitly claim to maintain or increase quality of life; therefore,- it is a commendable objective to try to assess the degree to which they in practice are capable of addressing the issue in the first instance. The literature review highlights the practical impact that a particular theoretic approach exerts on the outcome of a measurement and demonstrates the detrimentally high frequency of atheoretical ad hoc measurement of QoL. The study builds on the capability approach. By means of a PCA-based weighting procedure, 64 subjective and objective substance variables are aggregated into an overall metric of regional quality of life: the Regional Quality of Life Index (RQLI). Data are available for 195 regions covering all 28 EU Member States. The RQLI is evaluated in terms of its validity and reliability and is assessed as meeting both criteria. Using multiple linear regression, the analysis demonstrates consistently that regional indicators currently in use for evaluating the progress of the Europe 2020 Strategy and for determining Structural Fund eligibility are not able to shed light on regional levels of quality of life in the EU. Spatial patterns of QoL emerging from the analysis are highly incongruent with what has hitherto been observed by means of traditional metrics. Furthermore, urbanisation and agglomeration economies are demonstrably assessed to have little to do with the quality of life of citizens. It is argued that an important reason for this discrepancy is that depictions of the EU territory have hitherto been based on a limited interpretation of societal and human development. This has advocated a way of comprehending the society in terms of monetary units alone. As measurement instruments in general have a tendency to become discursive elements in themselves, this tendency has far reaching implications. Since policy interventions claim to maintain or increase the QoL of the citizens, the dissertation finally discusses the implications of conducting policy without an awareness of the factual levels of QoL. It introduces an analytic taxonomy of policy "interventions with a blindfold".

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KW - well-being

KW - capability approach

KW - composite index

KW - regional policy

KW - European Union

KW - EU2020

KW - structural funds

KW - elämänlaatu

KW - hyvinvointi

KW - toimintamahdollisuusteoria

KW - komposiitti-indeksi

KW - aluepolitiikka

KW - Euroopan Unioni

KW - rakennerahastot

KW - quality of life

KW - well-being

KW - capability approach

KW - composite index

KW - regional policy

KW - European Union

KW - EU2020

KW - structural funds

M3 - Doctoral Thesis

SN - 978-952-60-8212-7

T3 - Aalto University publication series DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS

PB - Aalto University

ER -

Regional Quality of Life in the EU: Comprehending the European space beyond GDP through the capability approach

Abstrakti

Tutkimusalat

Pääsy asiakirjaan

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