Development Of A Set Of Indicators

Perceiving complex multidimensional problems has proven to be a difficult task for people to overcome. However, introducing composite indicators into such problems allows the opportunity to reduce the problem's complexity. Emerging Trends in the Development and Application of Composite Indicators is an authoritative reference source for the latest scholarly research on the benefits and challenges presented by building composite indicators, and how these techniques promote optimized critical thinking. Highlighting various indicator types and quantitative methods, this book is ideally designed for developers, researchers, public officials, and upper-level students.

The use of numbers to condense complex systems into easily digested 'bites' of information is very much in fashion. At one level they are intended to enhance transparency, accountability and local democracy, while at another they provide a means of enhancing performance. However, all indicators suffer from the same basic problem that, ironically, is also their biggest advantage - condensing something highly complex into a few simple numbers. Love them or hate them, there is no denying that people use indicators to make decisions. Indices and Indicators explores the use of indicators within the field of human development. Part I provides a brief outline of the contested meaning of 'development' and how indices and indicators have been used as means of testing the realization of these development visions in practice in a range of institutional contexts. Part II discusses the limitations of such indices and indicators and illustrates how they are dependent upon the vision of development adopted. The book also suggests how indices and indicators can best be employed and presented. Given our overwhelming reliance on indices and indicators for measuring progress, directing policy and allocating resources, this book is essential core reading for academics, undergraduate and post-graduate students in social science, economics, geography and development studies as well as development practitioners, policy-makers and donor and international funding agencies.

This book makes indicators more accessible, in terms of what they are, who created them and how they are used. It examines the subjectivity and human frailty behind these quintessentially ‘hard’ and technical measures of the world. To achieve this goal, The Rise and Rise of Indicators presents the world in terms of a selected set of indicators. The emphasis is upon the origins of the indicators and the motivation behind their creation and evolution. The ideas and assumptions behind the indicators are made transparent to demonstrate how changes to them can dramatically alter the ranking of countries that emerge. They are, after all, human constructs and thus embody human biases. The book concludes by examining the future of indicators and the author sets out some possible trajectories, including the growing emphasis on indicators as important tools in the Sustainable Development Goals that have been set for the world up until 2030. This is a valuable resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students in the areas of economics, sociology, geography, environmental studies, development studies, area studies, business studies, politics and international relations.

The chapters in this book were prepared during the second phase of a study conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development to develop a set of International Indicators of Education Systems (INES). They were among the many studies presented at the General Assembly of the INES Project in Lugano (Switzerland), September 16-18, 1991. Taken together, these papers present what is currently known about the organization, development, measurement, and uses of international education indicators. Attention is given to the political contexts within which education indicators are used for informing policy-makers. The 18 chapters deal mainly with conceptual and analytical issues in the organization of education indicators. They are grouped thematically into four parts. Part I, "History and Definition of Indicators," presents a framework for the other contributions. Part II, "Development of Indicators," discusses issues in the development and implementation of different types of indicators. Part III, "Indicators of Outcomes of Education," is concerned with indicators of learning, student achievement, and other educational outcomes, such as labor market destinations. The five chapters in Part IV, "Interpreting Indicators for Policy," focus on the uses and abuses of reporting and interpreting international education indicators. Each chapter contains references. (Contains 10 tables and 16 figures.) (SLD)

World Development Indicators (WDI) is the World Bank s premier annual compilation of data about development. This year s print edition and e-book have been redesigned to allow users the convenience of easily linking to the latest data on-line.

While the concept of sustainability has been widely embraced, it has been only vaguely defined and is exceedingly difficult to measure. Sustainability indicators are critical to making the broad concept of sustainability operational by providing specific measures by which decision makers and the public can judge progress. Sustainability Indicators defines the present state of the art in indicator development. It presents a comprehensive assessment of the science behind various indicators, while placing special emphasis on their use as communications tools. The contributors draw on their experience as academics and practitioners to describe the conceptual challenges to measuring something as complex as sustainability at local, regional, national, and global scales. The book also reviews existing indicators to assess how they could be better employed, considering which indicators are overused and which have been underutilized. Sustainability Indicators will help planners and policy makers find indicators that are ready for application and relevant to their needs, and will help researchers identify the unresolved issues where progress is most urgently needed. All readers will find advice as to the most effective ways to use indicators to support decision making.

A guide for constructing and using composite indicators for policy makers, academics, the media and other interested parties. In particular, this handbook is concerned with indicators which compare and rank country performance.

"This report presents the framework and rationale, the aims and objectives, but also the methodology used and an initial set of indicators in three areas (legislation, participation, financing) of inclusive education."--Editor.