The lives of individuals are intertwined with others, and thus relationships with people in a person’s household, local community and beyond, as well as with institutions and services, play a fundamental role in their quality of life. One reason for the emphasis on the quality of society in Eurofound’s European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) is the significance of the social and institutional environment – mapping access to collective as well as individual resources.
To examine the quality of society, the EQLS provides information on perceived social exclusion, sense of belonging, trust in people and institutions, satisfaction with democracy and economy, societal tensions between different groups, economic and social insecurity, as well as lack of personal safety. The survey also contains indicators on social cohesion – participation in social activities, voluntary work and civic and political involvement.
The EQLS 2016, the fourth survey to date, has expanded on the examination of citizens’ perceptions of the quality of society, and in particular the quality, access and fairness of public services.
- Exploring wealth and transmission of (dis-) advantage in the context of social mobility, with the possibility to inform policymakers about equality of opportunity and fairness in society
- Report to examine fairness and optimism for the future and their relationship to people’s perceptions and realities (objective indicators of social and economic situation and living standards)
