Arrow and Raynaud introduced a set of axioms that a ranking rule should verify. Among these, axiom V' states that the compromise ranking should be a so-called prudent order. Intuitively, a prudent order is a linear order such that the strongest opposition against this solution is minimal. Since the related literature lacks in solid theoretical foundations for this type of aggregation rule, it was our main objective in this thesis to thoroughly study and gain a better understanding of the family of prudent ranking rules. We provide characterizations of several prudent ranking rules in a conjoint axiomatic framework. We also prove that we can construct profiles for which the result of a prudent ranking rule and a non-prudent ranking rule can be contradictory. Finally we illustrate the use of prudent ranking rules in a group decision context and on the composite indicator problem.

The main objective of this thesis is to assess the applicability of methods that are based on the employment of composite indicators when evaluating the 'sustainable development' and 'quality of live' indexes. The first issue observed in here is whether the composite indicators as such even represent a suitable tool for assessing the above mentioned area of analysis; if the answer is yes, then, secondly, under which conditions the composite indicators may be applied in the context of our analysis. After answering the questions above, it is crucial to find suitable methods for the particular steps of constructing the composite indicator for the sustainable development and quality of life categories, whereby it is also necessary to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages resulting from the application of the selected composite indicators for the purposes of the respective analysis. Within this thesis, the comparison of individual methods of constructing the indicators was performed by means of applying the individual indicators on the established set of data, as well as a subsequent comparison of results and the assessment of strengths and weaknesses of the individual methods has been done with respect to the factual side of the particular composite indicators (i.e. with respect to the sustainable development and quality of life in our case). Various composite indicators for the quality of life and sustainable development have already been established; the necessity of composing additional composite indicators for the above mentioned categories reflects the problematic nature of finding a suitable tool that would be generally accepted in this case. This thesis provides for relevant conclusions and recommendations that should contribute to establish a suitable approach towards the construction of composite indicators for the sustainable development and quality of life assessment. Furthermore, the thesis provides for the comparison of methods as employed in practical construction of composite indicators in our context with methods based on a professional theory. The professional theory/literature addresses and recommends certain methods for the construction of composite indicators in the relevant context, however, these methods are typically not applied in the practical construction of the most frequently/commonly used composite indicators for measuring the sustainable development and quality of life. The critical aspects that have been observed within comparison of the individual methods are transparency of calculation, interpretability of results, robustness of the composite indicator closely linked to the nature and character of the data, and the level of applicable compensation of the individual parameters within the respective indicator that is allowed by the particular aggregation mechanism employed. The thesis concludes on a rather questionable use of composite indicators in case of assessing the sustainable development, whereby deduces on recommending the application of composite indicators only in case of assessing the quality of life, which may also be understood as a part (sub-item) of the sustainable development and which is easier to be quantitatively expressed. In parallel, the circumstances of the quality of life are better to be compared across various items, e.g. regions. The results indicate that it is not possible to establish a uniform recommendation when selecting the most suitable method; in case of every construction of the particular composite indicator it is necessary to take into account the strengths and weaknesses of all the considered methods. At the same time, the results lead to consideration of relevancy of conclusions resulting from the evaluation of quality of life by means of composite indicators, especially by means of a single number.

<p>Aim. This study suggests a set of methodologies to combine different indicators of road safety into a single index. The RSDI is a simple and quick composite index, which may become a significant measurement in comparing, ranking and determining road safety levels in different countries and regions worldwide. Design. One particular concern in designing a Road Safety Development Index (RSDI) is to come up with a comprehensive set of exposure and risk indicators which includes as far as possible the main parameters in road safety related to human-vehicle-road and country patterns instead of considering few and isolated indicators such as accident rates. The RSDI gives a broad picture compared to the traditional models in road safety.</p><p> Challenges. The differences in definitions, non-collection of data, no reliability of data and underreporting are problems for the construction of RSDI. In addition, the index should be as relevant as possible for different countries of the world, especially in developing countries.</p><p>Empirical study. This study empirically compares the road safety situation and trends between ten Southeast Asian countries and Sweden for the period 1994- 2003. Methodologies. Eleven indicators are chosen in RSDI, which have been categorised in nine dimensions. Four main approaches (objective and subjective) are used to calculate RSDI and determine which one is the best. One approach uses equal weights for all indicators and countries, whereas the other approaches give different weights depending on the importance of indicators.</p><p>Findings. The thesis examines the RSDI for the ten ASEAN countries and Sweden in 2003. The results from this study indicate a remarkable difference between ASEAN countries even at the same level of motorisation. Singapore and Brunei seem to have the best RSDI record among the ASEAN countries according to the indicators used, while Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam show lower RSDI records. Conclusions. The RSDI results seem very promising and worth testing further applications with bigger samples of countries and from different parts of the world.</p> / ISRN/Report code: LiU-Tek-Lic 2005:29

Arrow and Raynaud introduced a set of axioms that a ranking rule should verify. Among these, axiom V' states that the compromise ranking should be a so-called prudent order. Intuitively, a prudent order is a linear order such that the strongest opposition against this solution is minimal. Since the related literature lacks in solid theoretical foundations for this type of aggregation rule, it was our main objective in this thesis to thoroughly study and gain a better understanding of the family of prudent ranking rules. We provide characterizations of several prudent ranking rules in a conjoint axiomatic framework. We also prove that we can construct profiles for which the result of a prudent ranking rule and a non-prudent ranking rule can be contradictory. Finally we illustrate the use of prudent ranking rules in a group decision context and on the composite indicator problem.<p><p> / Doctorat en Sciences de l'ingénieur / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Analysis of the Commitment to Development Index Miroslav Syrovátka ABSTRACT The Commitment to Development Index aims to measure the effects of wide range of rich countries' policies that support or limit development prospects of poor countries. These policies are grouped into seven components of the index. The thesis analyzes and assesses the methodology of the index construction with the main focus on its environmental component. It is argued that although the environmental component is a legitimate part of the concept behind the index, the difficulties of its implementation limit its information value. This is due to the specific shortcomings of component indicators and the necessity to combine environmental policy indicators with indicators of exploitation of global environmental resources. The scores of Visegrad countries and correlation analysis show the specificity of the environmental component within the whole index and indirectly support the conclusions about its reduced information value. The thesis discusses the options for modification, both at the level of composite index construction and presentation, and at the level of individual indicators of the environmental component.

Analysis of the Commitment to Development Index Miroslav Syrovátka ABSTRACT The Commitment to Development Index aims to measure the effects of wide range of rich countries' policies that support or limit development prospects of poor countries. These policies are grouped into seven components of the index. The thesis analyzes and assesses the methodology of the index construction with the main focus on its environmental component. It is argued that although the environmental component is a legitimate part of the concept behind the index, the difficulties of its implementation limit its information value. This is due to the specific shortcomings of component indicators and the necessity to combine environmental policy indicators with indicators of exploitation of global environmental resources. The scores of Visegrad countries and correlation analysis show the specificity of the environmental component within the whole index and indirectly support the conclusions about its reduced information value. The thesis discusses the options for modification, both at the level of composite index construction and presentation, and at the level of individual indicators of the environmental component.

Composite indicators, also called indices, are widely used synthetic measures for ranking and benchmarking alternatives across complex concepts. The aim of constructing a composite indicator is, among other things, to simplify and condense the information of a plurality of underlying indicators. However, to avoid misleading results, it is important to ensure that the construction is performed in a transparent and representative manner. To this end, this thesis aims to aid the construction of the Electricity Supply Resilience Index (ESRI) – which is a novel energy index, developed within the Future Resilient Systems (FRS) programme at the Singapore-ETH Centre (SEC) – by looking at the complementary and fundamental component of index aggregation, namely the weighting of the indicators. Normally, weights are assigned to reflect the relative importance of each indicator, based on stakeholders’ or decision-makers’ preferences. Consequently, the weights are often perceived to be importance coefficients, independent from the dataset under analysis. However, it has recently been shown that the structure of the dataset and correlations between the indicators often have a decisive effect on each indicator’s importance in the index. In fact, their importance rarely coincides with the assigned weights. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as implicit weights. The aim of this thesis is to assess the implicit weights in the aggregation of ESRI.  For this purpose, a six-step analytical framework, based on a novel variance-based sensitivity analysis approach, is presented and applied to ESRI. The resulting analysis shows that statistical dependencies between ESRI’s underlying indicators have direct implications on the outcome values – the equal weights assigned a-priori do not correspond to an equal influence from each indicator. Furthermore, when attempting to optimise the weights to balance the contribution of each indicator, it is found that this would require a highly unbalanced set of weights and come at the expense of representing the indicators in an effective manner. Thereby, it can be concluded that there are significant dependencies between the indicators and that their correlations need to be accounted for to achieve a balanced and representative index construction. Guided by these findings, this thesis provides three recommendations for improving the statistical representation and conceptual coherence of ESRI. These include: (1) avoid aggregating a negatively correlated indicator – keep it aside, (2) remove a conceptually problematic indicator – revise its construction or conceptual contribution, and (3) aggregate three collinear and conceptually intersecting indicators into a sub-index, prior to aggregation – limit their overrepresentation. By revising the index according to these three recommendations, it is found that ESRI showcases a greater conceptual and statistical coherence. It can thus be concluded that the analytical framework, proposed in this thesis, can aid the development of representative indices. / Kompositindikatorer (eller index) är populära verktyg som ofta används vid rankning och benchmarking av olika alternativ utifrån komplexa koncept. Syftet med att konstruera ett index är, bland annat, att förenkla och sammanfatta informationen från ett flertal underliggande indikatorer. För att undvika missvisande resultat är det därmed viktigt att konstruera index på ett transparent och representativt sätt. Med detta i åtanke, avser denna uppsats att stödja konstruktionen av Electricity Supply Resilience Index (ESRI) – vilket är ett nyutvecklat energiindex, framtaget inom Future Resilient Systems (FRS) programmet på Singapore-ETH Centre (SEC). Detta görs genom att studera ett vanligt fenomen (s.k. implicita vikter) som gör sig gällande i ett av konstruktionsstegen, då de underliggande indikatorerna ska viktas och aggregeras till ett index. I detta steg tilldelas vanligtvis vikter till de enskilda indikatorerna som ska spegla deras relativa betydelse i indexet. Det har dock nyligen visats att datastrukturen och korrelationer mellan indikatorerna har en avgörande påverkan på varje indikators betydelse i indexet, vilket ibland kan vara helt oberoende av vikten de tilldelats. Detta fenomen kallas ibland för implicita vikter, då de ej är explicit tilldelade utan uppkommer från datastrukturen. Syftet med denna uppsatts är således att undersöka de implicita vikterna i aggregationen av ESRI.  För detta ändamål sker en tillämpning och utökning av en nyutvecklad variansbaserad känslighetsanalys, baserad på olinjär regression, för bedömning av implicita vikter i kompositindikatorer. Resultaten från denna analys visar att statistiska beroenden mellan ESRIs underliggande indikatorer har direkt inverkan på varje indikators betydelse i indexet. Detta medför att vikterna ej överensstämmer med indikatorernas betydelse. Följaktligen utförs en vikt-optimering, för att balansera bidraget från varje indikator. Utifrån resultaten av denna vikt-optimering kan det konstateras att det inte är tänkbart att balansera bidraget från varje indikator genom att justera vikterna. Om så görs, skulle det ske på bekostnad av att kunna representera varje indikator på ett effektivt sätt. Därmed kan slutsatsen dras att det finns tydliga beroenden mellan indikatorer och att deras korrelationerna måste tas i hänsyn för att uppnå en balanserad och representativ indexkonstruktion. Utifrån dessa insikter presenteras tre rekommendationer för att förbättra den statistiska representationen och konceptuella samstämmigheten i ESRI. Dessa innefattar: (1) Undvik att aggregera en negativt korrelerad indikator - behåll den vid sidan av, (2) ta bort en konceptuellt problematisk indikator - revidera dess konstruktion eller konceptuella bidrag, och (3) sammanställ tre kollinära och konceptuellt överlappande indikatorer i ett sub-index, före aggregering - begränsa deras överrepresentation. När dessa rekommendationer implementerats står det klart att den reviderade ESRI påvisar en förbättrad konceptuell och statistisks samstämmighet. Därmed kan det fastställas att det analytiska verktyg som presenteras i denna uppsats kan bidra till utvecklingen av representativa index.

Aim. This study suggests a set of methodologies to combine different indicators of road safety into a single index. The RSDI is a simple and quick composite index, which may become a significant measurement in comparing, ranking and determining road safety levels in different countries and regions worldwide. Design. One particular concern in designing a Road Safety Development Index (RSDI) is to come up with a comprehensive set of exposure and risk indicators which includes as far as possible the main parameters in road safety related to human-vehicle-road and country patterns instead of considering few and isolated indicators such as accident rates. The RSDI gives a broad picture compared to the traditional models in road safety.  Challenges. The differences in definitions, non-collection of data, no reliability of data and underreporting are problems for the construction of RSDI. In addition, the index should be as relevant as possible for different countries of the world, especially in developing countries. Empirical study. This study empirically compares the road safety situation and trends between ten Southeast Asian countries and Sweden for the period 1994- 2003. Methodologies. Eleven indicators are chosen in RSDI, which have been categorised in nine dimensions. Four main approaches (objective and subjective) are used to calculate RSDI and determine which one is the best. One approach uses equal weights for all indicators and countries, whereas the other approaches give different weights depending on the importance of indicators. Findings. The thesis examines the RSDI for the ten ASEAN countries and Sweden in 2003. The results from this study indicate a remarkable difference between ASEAN countries even at the same level of motorisation. Singapore and Brunei seem to have the best RSDI record among the ASEAN countries according to the indicators used, while Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam show lower RSDI records. Conclusions. The RSDI results seem very promising and worth testing further applications with bigger samples of countries and from different parts of the world. / <p>ISRN/Report code: LiU-Tek-Lic 2005:29</p>

The overall aim of this thesis is to contribute to an understanding of the pathways through which structural and intermediary determinants influence child health in Colombia and how they operate through the context where children live in a more comprehensive way than has been determined to date. Colombia has made significant progress in child health in the last few decades and it is currently on track to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Nearly 90% of the goals on global malnutrition, infant mortality rate and under-five mortality rate have been achieved. However, despite the progress, national averages remain masking huge territorial disparities. While some regions present figures similar to those of a developed country, others report indicators similar to those of a very poor African country. Some municipalities, for example, record no stunted children, whereas in others, the prevalence of chronic malnutrition is greater than 50%. In this context, empirical research that enhances our understanding of socioeconomic determinants of child health and guide policy-making is crucial in order to reduce place-based health inequities in Colombia. This thesis is based on three research articles. The data used in these studies are drawn from the 2010 Colombian Demographic and Health Survey (DHS). The DHS is a large survey programme designed to collect high-quality nationally representative data on population, health and nutrition for developing countries. The DHS are widely recognised as the most important source of information for the analysis of health inequities in the developing world. Firstly, intermediary determinants of early childhood health have been analysed through the construction of a composite index (Chapter 3). The intermediary determinants are the most immediate mechanisms through which socioeconomic position influence child health inequities. Therefore, their identification should contribute to the drafting of intervention policies at this level, given the importance of these factors in programmes aimed at improving maternal and child care. The index allowed us to identify key immediate determinants of child health and their relative importance among Colombian departments (administrative subdivisions). The index was constructed using a more sophisticated methodological approach than that commonly used in the literature, termed polychoric principal component analysis (PCA). A hierarchical cluster analysis was also carried out in order to identify how departments cluster based on the health of their children rather than their geographic proximity. The results showed that the largest differences in intermediary determinants of child health are associated with health care before and during delivery. Furthermore, the departments that perform relatively better in the most immediate determinants of child health are located in the centre of the country. In contrast, those departments that perform worse are located in the peripheral region. This region has a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) well below the national average, little state presence, a hostile environment and a large proportion of the ethnic minorities. Our index provides very useful information in terms of public policy since it facilitates measuring, visualizing and monitoring of child health indicators, and may, therefore, help identify potential intervention strategies for improving the well-being of Colombian children. Secondly, this thesis examines the effect of individual, family and community socioeconomic conditions on different indices representing intermediary determinants of child health, using a coherent conceptual framework (Chapter 4). Using a weighted multilevel approach, the results indicate that whilst community socioeconomic context can exert a greater influence on factors linked directly to health, in the case of psychosocial factors and parent’s behaviours, the family context can be more important. In addition, the results indicate that a significant percentage of the variability in the overall index of intermediary determinants of child health is explained by the community context, even after controlling for individual, family and community characteristics. This study provides evidence that community socioeconomic context is a key component for improving child health in Colombia. However, the role played by context may vary according to the category of the intermediary determinants of child health analysed, highlighting the importance of distinguishing between community and family intervention programmes. Thirdly, the influence of education of other women in the community and family socioeconomic characteristics on child nutrition outcomes, as well as their interactions, was investigated (Chapter 5). The contextual effects of education on child health were studied using weighted multilevel models. This study takes into account important methodological issues such as sample weights and second level endogeneity in multilevel modelling, which have not been addressed in the empirical literature and can lead to biases in the estimates. Different ways through which community education can substitute for the effect of family characteristics on child nutrition were found, suggesting that child care programmes should focus not only on individuals but should also target the broader context of communities. In particular, those communities with less educated mothers and with low female autonomy are those that could benefit more from intervention policies that focus on encouraging female education. To conclude, previous studies on the social determinants of child health in Colombia are limited. Most of them have covered the issue from the perspective of the individual and little attention has been paid to the effect of context. In this vein, understanding the structural and intermediary determinants of child health inequities, as well as the role played by community socioeconomic context, is essential for the design, monitoring and tracking of public child care policies in Colombia. / El objetivo de esta tesis es contribuir a un entendimiento de los mecanismos a través de los cuales los determinantes estructurales e intermediarios de la salud influencian la salud de los niños en Colombia y como estos operan a través del contexto donde los niños viven, de una manera más completa que la que se ha hecho hasta ahora. Esta tesis se base en tres artículos de investigación. Los datos usados en estos estudios son de la “Demographic and Health Survey” (DHS) para Colombia en el año 2010. En primer lugar, los determinantes intermediarios de salud infantil se analizan a través de un indicador compuesto. El indicador permite identificar determinantes intermediarios claves de salud infantil y su importancia relativa entre departamentos colombianos. En segundo lugar, esta tesis examina el efecto de las condiciones socioeconómicas de la comunidad, la familia y los individuos sobre diferentes índices que representan determinantes intermediarios de salud infantil. Por último, se analiza la influencia de la educación de otras mujeres en la comunidad y de características socioeconómicas de las familias sobre la nutrición infantil, así como sus interacciones. Se utilizan diferentes enfoques metodológicos. Para la construcción de los indicadores compuestos se utiliza un análisis de componentes principales usando correlaciones policóricas, con el fin de analizar cómo se agrupan los departamentos de acuerdo a la salud de sus niños se hace un análisis de cluster jerarquico. Finalmente, con el fin de medir efectos contextuales se utilizan modelos multinivel de regresión lineal ponderados. Los resultados de esta tesis demuestran que el contexto de la comunidad es un componente clave en la determinación de determinantes intermediarios de salud infantil, así como de indicadores de nutrición de los niños, tanto en el mediano como en el largo plazo en Colombia. Por lo tanto, es necesario que los gobiernos municipales y departamentales involucren no sólo a los individuos, sino que también tengan en cuenta el contexto de las comunidades para el desarrollo, ejecución, monitoreo y evaluación de las políticas de cuidado infantil.

L’objectif de cette thèse est de développer et de proposer de nouvellesméthodes de réduction de dimension pour la construction d’indicateurs composites dequalité de vie à l’échelle communale. La méthodologie statistique développée met l’accentsur la prise en compte de la multidimensionnalité du concept de qualité de vie, avecune attention particulière sur le traitement de la mixité des données (variables quantitativeset qualitatives) et l’introduction des conditions environnementales. Nous optonspour une approche par classification de variables et pour une méthode multi-tableaux(analyse factorielle multiple pour données mixtes). Ces deux méthodes permettent deconstruire des indicateurs composites que nous proposons comme mesure des conditionsde vie à l’échelle communale. Afin de faciliter l’interprétation des indicateurscomposites construits, une méthode de sélection de variables de type bootstrap estintroduite en analyse factorielle multiple. Enfin nous proposons la méthode hclustgeode classification d’observations qui intègre des contraintes de proximité géographiqueafin de mieux appréhender la spatialité des phénomènes mis en jeu. / The purpose of this thesis is to develop and suggest new dimensionreduction methods to construct composite indicators on a municipal scale. The developedstatistical methodology highlights the consideration of the multi-dimensionalityof the quality of life concept, with a particular attention on the treatment of mixeddata (quantitative and qualitative variables) and the introduction of environmentalconditions. We opt for a variable clustering approach and for a multi-table method(multiple factorial analysis for mixed data). These two methods allow to build compositeindicators that we propose as a measure of living conditions at the municipalscale. In order to facilitate the interpretation of the created composite indicators, weintroduce a method of selections of variables based on a bootstrap approach. Finally,we suggest the clustering of observations method, named hclustgeo, which integratesgeographical proximity constraints in the clustering procedure, in order to apprehendthe spatiality specificities better.