Measuring the Implementation of Sustainable Development …
217
2008). These critics are grounded on acknowledged composite indicators limitations
and drawbacks, especially concerning the selection of variables and the aggregation
methods of additive type which tend to perform compensation between indicators
(Mazziotta and Pareto 2013; Munda and Nardo 2009).
Despite the referred problems, composite indicators usefulness is real and recognized by the UN, the World Bank, the WHO, the OECD or the EU as important
tools to monitor countries evolution when well defined targets exist, to assist policy
analysis and to further improve public communication. The UN monitoring system
(United Nations General Assembly 2014; United Nations Statistical Commission
2017) relies on specialized organizations and on several tools such as the framework of indicators designed to be applied in countries at a national scale, addressing
all Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their specific targets (Leadership
Council of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) 2015; United
Nations General Assembly 2018).
Within this context, the present work describes the conception, methodological
procedures and application, to the entire Portuguese territory, of the composite index
WeGIx—Wellbeing Global Index that aims to measure the quality of life at the local
scale. Portugal is a democratic country, in peace since 1974 and is a state member
of the EU since 1985, benefitting from the Community peace, policies, economy
and solidarity. Meanwhile, even under the protective shield of the EU, the country
economy and financial situation crashed in 2008, caused by poor governance and the
international financial crisis, inhibiting from progress in several dimensions of life
conditions. Three years have passed since the UN 2030 Agenda declaration, so it is
time to keep track on the country progress on SDGs, concerning a municipal scale
and to assess the inequalities in the country (SDG 10).
2 Methodology Used in the Process of Designing
and Implementing the WeGIx Index: Step by Step
This work describes the process of designing WeGIx, a composite indicator, within
the scope of the SDG objectives and their correspondent one hundred global indicators defined by the UN Inter-agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (Leadership Council of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) 2015),
and its application to Portugal as a case study. SDGs were built upon the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) established to solve important problems, which threat
human dignity such as famine, absence of potable water, sanitation and electricity or
even lack of habitable land. Despite all the effort put on MDGs, nowadays, some of
the infamous problems and lack of basic needs still persist or have been aggravated
in some regions experiencing extreme poverty and violence. Poverty has range both
in concept and in reality (Mair et al. 2018): while some countries still experience
extreme poverty, others, like Portugal, where homelessness remains a concern, general poverty is no longer associated with the lack of basic needs such as the access
217
2008). These critics are grounded on acknowledged composite indicators limitations
and drawbacks, especially concerning the selection of variables and the aggregation
methods of additive type which tend to perform compensation between indicators
(Mazziotta and Pareto 2013; Munda and Nardo 2009).
Despite the referred problems, composite indicators usefulness is real and recognized by the UN, the World Bank, the WHO, the OECD or the EU as important
tools to monitor countries evolution when well defined targets exist, to assist policy
analysis and to further improve public communication. The UN monitoring system
(United Nations General Assembly 2014; United Nations Statistical Commission
2017) relies on specialized organizations and on several tools such as the framework of indicators designed to be applied in countries at a national scale, addressing
all Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their specific targets (Leadership
Council of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) 2015; United
Nations General Assembly 2018).
Within this context, the present work describes the conception, methodological
procedures and application, to the entire Portuguese territory, of the composite index
WeGIx—Wellbeing Global Index that aims to measure the quality of life at the local
scale. Portugal is a democratic country, in peace since 1974 and is a state member
of the EU since 1985, benefitting from the Community peace, policies, economy
and solidarity. Meanwhile, even under the protective shield of the EU, the country
economy and financial situation crashed in 2008, caused by poor governance and the
international financial crisis, inhibiting from progress in several dimensions of life
conditions. Three years have passed since the UN 2030 Agenda declaration, so it is
time to keep track on the country progress on SDGs, concerning a municipal scale
and to assess the inequalities in the country (SDG 10).
2 Methodology Used in the Process of Designing
and Implementing the WeGIx Index: Step by Step
This work describes the process of designing WeGIx, a composite indicator, within
the scope of the SDG objectives and their correspondent one hundred global indicators defined by the UN Inter-agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (Leadership Council of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) 2015),
and its application to Portugal as a case study. SDGs were built upon the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) established to solve important problems, which threat
human dignity such as famine, absence of potable water, sanitation and electricity or
even lack of habitable land. Despite all the effort put on MDGs, nowadays, some of
the infamous problems and lack of basic needs still persist or have been aggravated
in some regions experiencing extreme poverty and violence. Poverty has range both
in concept and in reality (Mair et al. 2018): while some countries still experience
extreme poverty, others, like Portugal, where homelessness remains a concern, general poverty is no longer associated with the lack of basic needs such as the access