Quality of Life Index in the Provinces of Iran  (2003–2009)

Afgheh, Sed Morteza; Farazmand, Hasan; Karobi, Rozbeh; Mallhagh Fard, Mehrnaz

doi:10.22054/qjsd.2013.3227

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

https://doi.org/10.22054/qjsd.2013.3227

Abstract

The concept of quality of life has been recently introduced to the fields of sustainable development, social development planning, and modern economics, where it has gained a prominent place. Therefore, understanding, measuring, and improving the quality of life has been a primary goal for a large part of researchers, planners, and governments in the past few decades. Thus, quality of life has been considered a substitute for material prosperity throughout the last three decades. Quality of life index is a composite of different economic, social, health, and enviromental variables that influence individual and social development on individual and social levels. Therefore, the index can be a powerful tool in development planning in any society. Considering the importance of the issue and the factors effective on the quality of life, the currect study makes an attempt to develop a composite index of quality of life and to compare the status of this index in the provinces of Iran during the years 2003 to 2009. To that end, an attempt has been made to measure and rate quality of life in the provinces through the combination of factor analysis and numerical taxonomy methods. The results show that the province of Tehran had the significant highest prosperity compared to other provinces. While the provinces of East Azerbaijan and Isfahan had relatively good improvements in the quality of life, the provinces of Lorestan, Ilam, and (more significantly) Sistan and Baluchestan had a low quality of life.

Keywords

References

- باسخا، مهدی؛ عاقلی‌کهنه ‌شهری، لطفعلی؛ ارشک، مسائلی. (1389)، رتبه‌بندی شاخص کیفیت زندکی در استان‌های کشور، فصلنامه علمی- پژوهشی رفاه اجتماعی، سال نهم، شماره 37.

- جانسون، ریچارد؛ دین، ویچرن. تحلیل چند متغیره کاربردی، ترجمه: بزرگ‌‌نیا، ابوالقاسم، مشهد، انتشارات دانشگاه فردوسی.

- زارع چاهوکی، محمدعلی. (1389)، روش‌های تحلیل چند متغیره در نرم افزار SPSS،دانشگاه تهران.

- Adelman, I. , Morris, C. T. (1967). “Society, Politics and Economic Development”. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press.

- Das, D. (2008). “Urban Quality of Life: A Case Study of Guwahati”. Soc Indic Res, 88.

- Dasgupta, P. (1990). “Well- being and the Extent of it’s Realization in Poor Countries”. Economic Journal, 100 (Supplement). PP. 1- 32.

- Diener, E. (2006). “Guidelines for National Indicators of Subjective Well- being and Ill- being”. Applied Research in Quality of Life, I (2). PP. 151- 157.

- Easterlin, R. , Angelescu, L. (2007). “Modern Economic Growth and Quality of Life: Cross- sectional and Time series Evidence”. ForschungsInstitutZurZukunf der Arbeit Institute for the Study of Labor, Discussion Paper. No. 2755.

- Glatzer, W. (2006). “Quality of Life in the European Union and the United States of America: Evidence from Comprehensive Indices”. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 1.

- Hicks, N. (1979). “Growth vs. Basic Needs: Is there a Trade- off?”. World Development, 7. PP. 985- 994.

- Hirschberg, J. et al. (2001). “Clusters of Attributes and Well- being in the USA”. Journal of Applied Econometrics, 16. PP. 445- 460.

- Liu, Ben- Cheih. (1976). “Quality of Life Indicators in U. S. Metropolitan Areas”. New York: Praeger Publishers.

- Marchante A. and B. , Ortega (2006), “Quality of life and economic convergence across Spanishregions, 1980-2001”, Regional Studies, 40:471-483.

- Mitchell, G., Namdeo, A., & Kay, D. (2000). “A New Disease- burden for Estimating the Impact of Outdoor Air Quality on Human Health”. The Science of the total Environment. 246 (2- 3), PP.153- 163

- Morris, D. (1979). “Measuring the Conditions of the World Pour,The Physical Quality of Life Index”. New York: Pergaman Press.

- Pacione, M. (1995). “The Use of Objective and Subjective Measures of Quality of Life in Human Geography”. Prog. Hum. Geogr. 6.

- Quality of life indicators. ENVIS Centre on Human Settlement- Department Of Environmental Planning, SPA, New Delhi.

- Rahman, T. , Mittelhammer Ron C. ,&Wandschneider, Ph. (2005). “Measuring the Quality of Life across Countries: A Sensitivity Analysis of Well-being Indices”. World Institute for Development Economics Research.

- Ram, R. (1980). “Physical Quality of Life Index and Inter- CountyInequality”. Economic Letters. PP. 195-199.

- Roback, J. , 1982. Wages, rents, and the quality of life. Journal of Political Economy 90 (6), 1257-1278.

- Schmitt, R. B. (2002). "Considering Social Cohsion in Quality of Life Assessments: Concepts and Measurement". Social Indicators Research. Volume 58. PP. 403- 428.

- Salvaris, M. , Bruke, T. , Pidgeon, J. , &Kelman, S. (2000). “Social Benchmarks and Indicators for Victoria Technical Report”. Melbourne: Institute for Social Research, SwinburneUniversity of Technology.

- Sen, A. K. (1973). "On The Development of Basic Economic Indicators to Supplement GNP Measures". UN Economic Bulletin for Asia and for East. Volume 24 (2-3). PP. 1-11.

- Sen, A. K. (1981). "Public Action and The Quality of Life in Developing Countries". Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics. Volume 43. PP. 287- 319.

- Slottje, D. J. (1991): Measuring the Quality of Life Across Countries. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 73, s. 684-693.

- Smith, V. Kerry. (1983). "The Role of Site and Job Characteristics in Hedonic Wage Models". Journal of Urban Economics. Volume 13. PP. 296- 321.

- Stover, Mark E. and Leven, Charls L. (1992). "Methodological Issue in The Determination of The Quality of Life in Urban Areas". Urban Studies. Volume 29. No (5). PP. 737- 754.

- Sufian, A. J. M. (1993). “A multivariate analysis of the determinants of urban quality of life in the world´s largest metropolitan areas”. Urban Studies, 30, s. 1319-1329.

- Yuan, L. L. , Yuen, B, & Low, C. (1999). "Urban Quality of Life: Critical Issues and Options". Singapore: Singapore University Press.

Social Development & Welfare Planning

Quality of Life Index in the Provinces of Iran (2003–2009)

References

References

Volume 4, Issue 17 - Serial Number 17
December 2013
Pages 105-130

Quality of Life Index in the Provinces of Iran (2003–2009)

References

References

Volume 4, Issue 17 - Serial Number 17December 2013Pages 105-130

Volume 4, Issue 17 - Serial Number 17
December 2013
Pages 105-130