Educational Research - the Ethics and Aesthetics of Statistics

8 European Citizenship and Evidence-Based Happiness 119
illustrates how the concern for happiness and well-being appears. In the introduction
to the publication of results, explicit reference is made to the work of Richard
Layard. It reads:
The European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) has developed as a tool to inform the social
policy debate in Europe. There is clearly a need to establish the main social challenges
facing Europeans in Member States and to better understand the situation of different
socioeconomic groups. However, it is also evident that data on living conditions should
be complemented by information from another perspective, “where people’s feelings are
treated as paramount” (Layard, 2006). This viewpoint is critical to assessing the European
social model, which emphasises values of trust and tolerance, solidarity and justice.
(Eurofound, 2009, p.1)
The concern for happiness and well-being is not only evident in the practice of
measuring these aspects, but seen to be served in the very gathering and presentation
of statistics themselves. The gathering of data on happiness and well-being
is used as evidence of Europe’s commitment to the core value of social justice
of which its commitment to democracy is part. As such, the communication of
this data is presented as a means to build this trust between Europe and its citizens.
The discourse of social justice, transparency and accountability is also evident
in the language of Eurostat. In the foreword to the 2009 “pocketbook”, the current
Director-General of Eurostat, Walter Radermacher, describes the production
of statistics as “a public good and a basis for the smooth functioning of democracy”
(Eurostat, 2009, p. 7); he also makes a direct link between the production of
statistics and Europe’s “prosperity and commitment to solidarity and social justice”
(Eurostat, 2009, p. 7). The Eurostat pocketbook is one of a number of publications
this office produces and is intended for a more general audience, as a way of engaging
citizens in knowledge about Europe, and demonstrating Europe’s commitment
to them. It is not only in the gathering of data on which Europe evidences its commitment
to its core values but through their presentation to the public. The questions
asked illustrate how citizens are addressed in terms of their happiness, wellbeing
and the associated life-satisfaction and how these aspects correlate to other
concerns.
The European Quality of Life Survey begins with some factual questions about
the household and employment: How many others live in the household with you,
how old are they and what do they do? What do or did you do if anything, in
what sector and for how many hours a week? The questions then shift slightly to
require answers based on opinion or perception: How likely do you think it is that
you might lose your job in the next 6 months? Or questions on working conditions
or what might be termed work–life balance to be answered according to a
scale between “Strongly Agree” through “Strongly Disagree” to “Don’t Know” or
between “Several Times a Week” and “Never”. The questions then return to the
factual: What is the occupation of the main wage earner in the household? How
many rooms are there in the accommodation in which you live? Throughout the survey,
questions shift from the factual, as just shown, to those relating to opinions or
perceptions. Here are some examples: