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6Summary<br />

Estonian Human Development Report 2012/2013<br />

The Next Step<br />

Mati Heidmets<br />

The Estonia Human Development Report for 2012–2013<br />

introduced the reader to dozens of measures and hundreds<br />

of rankings, which the authors believe should<br />

provide a good description of today’s world and its<br />

people. Inevitably the question arises: what is this – the<br />

truth about life, a manipulation by interest groups, or<br />

a good business project? There is no sense in searching<br />

for the complete truth or an unambiguous message in<br />

these rankings, or numerical indicators characterising<br />

the countries. After all, the only thing a comparison can<br />

provide is hints about how things are going – nothing<br />

more. Everyone must obtain the complete picture through<br />

their own interpretation. At the same time, global comparisons<br />

definitely provide a more trustworthy basis for<br />

these interpretations than purely personal attitudes and<br />

common (pre)conceptions. The rating industry provides<br />

a way for the globalising world to perceive and describe<br />

itself. If organisations like the UN, OECD and Eurostat<br />

are behind the offering, one can be sure that an attempt is<br />

being made to use yardsticks that are assembled using the<br />

best available knowledge and carefully controlled procedures.<br />

Yet, it is still pertinent to point out some distinctive<br />

features of the rating industry.<br />

If we know the author, both the content and meaning<br />

of the comparison become clearer. Thus, in some<br />

cases the procedures and the result acquire the face of<br />

the initiator. If the UN is compiling the comparison, it<br />

will probably be related to global concerns; if the OECD<br />

is involved, an important motive will be to find instruments<br />

for stimulating economic development. In the case<br />

of Gallup, their American-centric approach in formulating<br />

the questions and interpreting the results is inevitable.<br />

Knowing the author allows us to better understand the<br />

idea and implications of the undertaking.<br />

It also pays to pay attention to the sources of the<br />

data. These can vary to a great extent; some sources are<br />

more reliable and trustworthy, like national censuses or<br />

government statistics, although, even in these cases there<br />

are certain margins of error. The yardsticks with greater<br />

degrees of fluctuation and more possibilities for interpretation<br />

are the ones based on surveys or expert assessments.<br />

Especially the latter are significantly affected by<br />

the composition of the expert group, and also the broader<br />

cultural context.<br />

The numerical values of the indicators characterising<br />

countries and peoples, most of which are presented<br />

as so-called “averages”, have caused some confusion.<br />

An average does not mean that this is characteristic of the<br />

majority. If the average life satisfaction value on the Gallup<br />

“ladder” is 5.4, this does not mean that the majority<br />

of Estonians have positioned their level of satisfaction<br />

between the fifth and sixth “steps of the ladder”. An<br />

average becomes meaningful when complemented by<br />

knowledge about the extent to which the given indicator<br />

varies in society. Actually, there is no such thing as an<br />

average Estonian – there are different groups, interests and<br />

Estonian Human Development Report 2012/2013<br />

209

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