Page 43 - The Importance of Common Metrics for Advacing Social Science Theory and Research

The Importance of Common Metrics for Advancing Social Science Theory and Research: A Workshop Summary
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/13034.html

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Indicators

One session of the workshop was devoted to the topic of advantages
and disadvantages of standardizing social science indicators. Disability
indices, high school completion rates, and the construction of race and eth-
nicity categories were the primary examples discussed. A consistent theme
was the paramount need for theory as well as a public policy purpose for
motivating standardization of measurement for a particular construct.

THE STANDARDIZATION OF INDICATORS USED IN POLICY
Geoff Mulgan (The Young Foundation) described his specific perspec-
tive on the use of standardized indicators in policy making and decision
making. He has experience working for several political leaders committed
to using such indicators, including former prime minister Tony Blair, Aus-
tralian prime minister Kevin Rudd, and the prime minister of Greece,
George Papandreou, who is currently addressing a set of issues around
harmonization and standardization related to national debt. He noted
that, in the United Kingdom, the National Institute for Clinical Excel-
lence is an independent, formal government body set up to determine the
cost-effectiveness of different health treatments, from pharmaceuticals to
smoking cessation. He is currently attempting to encourage governments
to develop similar types of institutes in other fields, such as education and
criminal justice in other countries.
In addressing the political context around standardization, Mulgan
stated that governments in the 17th and 18th centuries tended to standard-
ize and measure for central control (for example, tax collection), but that

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