Sunday 29 May 2011

OECD Better Life Initiative




The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development or OECD is an institution that originated in 1948 as the Organization for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), a body intended to foster economic growth for Europe in the aftermath of World War II and changed to its current title in 1961.  For more information about the history of the organization check here. Presently comprised of representatives from 34 states, it collects data from the member countries and analyzes the information in order to give guidance for economic policy and international trade. Its headquarters are at the Château de la Muette in Paris, France and the 2011 budget is 340 Euros. From the OECD website:


“Discussions at OECD committee-level sometimes evolve into negotiations where OECD countries agree on rules of the game for international co-operation. They can culminate in formal agreements by countries, for example on combating bribery, on arrangements for export credits, or on the treatment of capital movements. They may produce standards and models, for example in the application of bilateral treaties on taxation, or recommendations, for example on cross-border co-operation in enforcing laws against spam. They may also result in guidelines, for example on corporate governance or environmental practices.”

On May 24th, 2011, the OECD launched an interactive index on its website that allows viewers to measure and compare citizens’ lives in its 34 member states based on 11 dimensions – “housing, income, jobs, community, education, environment, governance, health, life satisfaction, safety, work-life balance -- giving their own weight to each of the dimensions.”  They call this the Better Life Index.

See if the conclusions based on your personal component weighing compare to your life experiences.

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