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To the memory of Professor Daniel J. Elazar
ABSTRACT. Using multi-dimensional analysis methods, it is possible to uncover a structure representing the relationship between multiple international educational, social and economic indicators. In this study, we applied Smallest Space Analysis to data collected by international agencies for 138 countries and 20 indicators. A preliminary structure was found and replicated for different data sets. This structural interrelationship shows that these various indicators are part of a larger field called welfare. This structure can be further expanded and refined to be used as a tool for indicator selection.
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INTRODUCTION
Thanks to the efforts of international organizations such as the World Bank and the United Nations, a wealth of raw data exists measuring social, cultural, economic, demographic and educational indicators. Substantive and invaluable lists of statistics have been compiled and are regularly updated for virtually every nation in the world. Experts in the fields of education, economics, sociology and policy-making may interpret this macro-information from differing and even opposing points of view, emphasizing the significance of certain variables or of certain correlations between them.
Much important research has been done in each of these fields, demonstrating links between various combinations of these indicators, which has advanced our understanding of the relative economic, educational and physical health of international populations. To mention only a few examples, correlations were found between education levels of women and the average number of children they have (Cochrane, 1979; Birdsall, 1988), between improved health care and percentage of children enrolled in schools (Lewin, 1993), between nutrition and achievement in school (Pollitt, 1990), between education and health (Cochrane et al., 1980, 1982). The majority of such studies have focused in-depth on one subject or one geographical region. An example of a broad-based study, a World Bank report on poverty which draws on data from many countries and indicators, takes the classical approach of comparing two or three variables at a time, gradually creating a comprehensive picture throughout the lengthy report (World Bank, 1990).
It has long been recognized in the field of comparative social research that a multi-dimensional approach can give us a broader, more comprehensive understanding of the complex subject of human living conditions (Kyogoku and...