Italy’s national statistical office has been reporting on Equitable and Sustainable Well-being (Bes) indicators since 2013. The indicators also feature in parliamentary reporting and budgetary analysis.
Italy’s Equitable and Sustainable Well‑being (Bes) Indicators
Abstract
Italy’s Equitable and Sustainable Well-being indicators, referred to as the ‘Bes’ indicators for the Italian acronym (Benessere Equo e Sostenibile), are managed by the Italian national statistical office, Istat. The indicators have been presented in an annual report since 2013, and have featured in parliamentary reporting and budgetary analysis since 2017. The Framework underpinning the indicators was developed in response to international initiatives in the late 2000s calling for broader measures of progress (such as the 2009 recommendations of the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress, also known as the Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi Commission). Widespread consultation with trade unions, trade associations, third sector agencies and ecological and women’s associations representatives helped inform the development of the Framework and selection of indicators.
The current Bes indicator set features 152 indicators across 12 dimensions of well-being: health; education and training; work-life balance; economic well-being; social relationships; politics and institutions; security; subjective well-being; landscape and cultural heritage; environment; innovation, research and creativity; and quality of services.
The report on Equitable and Sustainable Well-being (Bes) is published every year together with the updated set of indicators. It provides a comprehensive description of quality of life in Italy. Previous editions of the report have featured one chapter per well-being dimension plus an introductory summary chapter. Each edition is accompanied by a statistical annex with all the available indicators and disaggregations (e.g. by gender, territorial disparities, age).
In 2016, a reform to government accounting required the Ministry of Economy and Finance to report to Parliament twice a year on the evolution of headline Bes indicators and the actual or projected impact of different budget scenarios (through a monitoring report every February, as well as an Annex to the Economic and Financial Planning document – the Italian government’s main financial and economic planning instrument – every April). Twelve headline indicators were selected by an Expert Committee in 2017 to underpin these reports: adjusted gross disposable income per capita; disposable income inequality; absolute poverty rate; healthy life expectancy at birth; overweight or obesity rates; early leavers from education and training; non-participation rate; ratio of employment rate for women aged 25-49 with at least one child aged 0-5 to the employment rate of women 25-49 years without children; predatory crime index; length of civil proceedings; emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases; and the illegal building rate. The 2017 Economic and Finance Document (DEF) included four of these indicators, and all 12 were included in the 2018 DEF for the first time. Since then, cross-departmental efforts (led by the Ministry of Economy and Finance) have continued to refine the budgetary reporting on the 12 indicators.
Italy’s Equitable and Sustainable Well-being indicators allow the country to assess its current and projected performance across wide-ranging dimensions of well-being. Italy was also one of the first OECD member states to tie well-being indicators to its government’s economic and budget planning. Regular reporting on the selected indicators has made them a point of reference for measuring progress and informing debate in a budgetary context.
Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (2023), Relazione sugli Indicatori di Benessere Equo e Sostenible [2023 Equitable and Sustainable Well-being Report to the Parliament], https://www.dt.mef.gov.it/export/sites/sitodt/modules/documenti_it/analisi_progammazione/documenti_programmatici/Relazione-BES-2023.pdf
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OECD (2023), Economic Policy Making to Pursue Economic Welfare: OECD Report for the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, May 2023, Japan, OECD, Paris. https://www.oecd.org/economy/G7_Beyond_GDP_Economic_policy_making_to_pursue_economic_welfare_2023.pdf
Blazey, A., M. Lelong and F. Giannini (2022), “The Equitable and Sustainable Well-being Framework in Italy: An Action Plan for its use in policy and budget decision making”, OECD Working Papers on Public Governance, No. 56, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/4f48c504-en
