Improving Our Standard of Living (Wattpad Edition)

Chapter 4: Measuring Standard of Living

It may never be possible to determine the absolute standard of living of a country. But we can look at variables that are indications of a nation's quality of life. Examples include life expectancy, infant mortality, wealth, income equality, education, happiness, crime rate, suicide rate, employment rate, gender equality, environmental health, political corruption, human rights abuses, internet access, scientific output, and so on.

We can measure several indicators and average them together to approximate a nation's quality of life. We can do this for each country, then rank them according to their average scores.

The rest of this chapter shows which variables I selected and why. Then I show which countries have the best living standards in the world. Later, I show what they're doing right.

Standard of Living Index

I selected three indices from three organizations that claim to measure the quality of life of each nation. I averaged their results into a single score for each country.

I chose these indices because of their comprehensiveness. I did not, for instance, use the UN's Human Development Index because it only looks at a couple variables. Besides, the variables that compose it are already included in the three indices I selected.

I averaged the results of each index into my own, which I call the Standard of Living Index.

The next few sections describe which indices I chose and what they measure. After that, I show the quality of life of each country in relation to each other.

Note that you might see an indicator listed in one index listed again in a different one. That's okay. Each index has its strengths and weaknesses, which means they complement each other.

Prosperity Index

The Legatum Institute's Prosperity Index assesses the prosperity of nations by looking at several variables in eight categories [1]. They're listed below. If you're not interested in the specifics, just read the bold parts.

Economy. Percentage of citizens that are satisfied with their living standards and with the economy. Percentage of citizens that have adequate food and shelter, believe good jobs are available, are confident in financial institutions, and are able to save money. The employment rate, economic growth rate, average capital per worker, market size, percentage of failed loans, and foreign investment size and volatility.

Entrepreneurship and opportunity. Average cost of starting a business. Prevalence of secure internet servers. Research and development as a percentage of GDP. Average internet bandwidth. Prevalence of mobile phones. Prevalence of royalty receipts. High-tech exports as a percentage of exports. Percentage of the population that feels working hard gets them ahead. Percentage of the population that feels the environment is good for entrepreneurship.

Governance. Government stability, effectiveness, and rule of law. Regulation quality. Extent of separation of powers and political rights. Government type (democratic or not). Extent of political constraint. Percentage of citizens that are satisfied with efforts to address poverty, that are confident in the judicial system, that feel the government and businesses are corrupt, that are satisfied with environmental preservation, that are confident in the government, that are confident in the military, that believe citizens can voice their concerns, and that believe elections are fair and honest.

Education. Percentage of the population that goes to high school, college, and university. Student-to-teacher ratio. Girl-to-boy enrollment ratio. Percentage of workers with a high school, college, and university education. Percentage of the population that is satisfied with education and believe children are learning well.