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Living Conditions in Denmark Author(s): Kirsten Worm Source: Acta Sociologica, Vol. 21, No. 3 (1978), pp. 267-270 Published by: Sage Publications, Ltd. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4194242 . Accessed: 12/06/2014 20:38 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . Sage Publications, Ltd. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Acta Sociologica. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 185.2.32.46 on Thu, 12 Jun 2014 20:38:22 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Living Conditions in Denmark

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Page 1: Living Conditions in Denmark

Living Conditions in DenmarkAuthor(s): Kirsten WormSource: Acta Sociologica, Vol. 21, No. 3 (1978), pp. 267-270Published by: Sage Publications, Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4194242 .

Accessed: 12/06/2014 20:38

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

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Sage Publications, Ltd. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to ActaSociologica.

http://www.jstor.org

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Page 2: Living Conditions in Denmark

Acra Sociologica 1978 - Vol. 21 - No. 3

Research Note

Living Conditions in Denmark*

Kirsten Worm Danish National Institute of Social Research, Denmark

Background When Danmarks Statistik (the Central Bureau of Statistics) and the Danish Natio- nal Institute of Social Research jointly published the first edition of Living Condi- tions in Denmark in the fall of 1976, the first step was taken towards an ongoing or recurrent social reporting in Denmark. As in other countries, over the years a growing awareness of the need to develop social statistics to supplement national accounts as a basis for evaluating development processes had arisen. That there was a need was reflected in the fact that by September 1977, 17,000 copies of the I st edition had been sold and a fourth reprint was being considered.

The publication served very much a dual function in providing a statistical basis which permitted broader evaluation of social development and which at the same time pointed to the need to develop social statistics even further. The first edition aimed at 'presenting a comprehensive selection of the most important statistical information on the development of and disparities in living conditions in Den- mark'. The report excelled by its systematic documentation of statistics currently produced and gathered for specific purposes. The statistics that were presented, however, did not constitute a coherent body of information. Furthermore, the various types of statistics often defied comparison.

It is intended in the second publication (to appear in summer 1979) to improve these shortcomings as far as is possible by establishing a higher degree of coordi- nation among the various producers of the statistics to be presented. This, how- ever, is only a partial solution that in the long run will be replaced by new types of social statistics.

* The 2nd edition of this work, Living Conditions in Denmark (ed. by Kirsten Worm), is a joint publication from Danmarks Statistik (Central Bureau of Statistics) and the Danish National Institute of Social Research. It is planned for publication in the summer 1979.

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Page 3: Living Conditions in Denmark

Alms of the publication

It is the aim of the publication to give an over-all description of: (1) living conditions in Denmark as at 1978; (2) how living conditions changed from approximately 1950 to 1978; (3) disparities in existing living conditions.

Time dimension

According to the publishers presenting data on living conditions shouldn't just stop at the editing of a yearbook on social statistics. It should also present time series reflecting the post-war structural development in Denmark and the way in which this development has affected the conditions of life for specific groups of people. The post-war period, however, is only considered as a guideline for the develop- ment of statistical time series. In several cases exceptions are made. In the case of health statistics, for instance, major changes took place in the 20's and 30's as a result of improved housing, working and dietary conditions. In other cases, con- cerning for instance the development of cancer, comprehensive studies relating cases of cancer to urbanization and occupational status only comprise the period 1963 onwards. As regards heart diseases systematic statistical information has only been collected since 1972, to give a few examples.

Aspects of living condition

In the first publication several areas of concern that reflected but did not com- pletely correspond to the list worked out in 1973 by an OECD working group were selected. These were: Health, Education, Working Conditions, Housing Condi- tions, Leisure, Political Participation and Family Relations. The book also con- tained a chapter on living conditions for various selected groups, children, the elderly, etc. In the second edition one more chapter on personal safety and victimization might be included.

Distributive aspects of living conditions

One fundamental aim of the publication is to illustrate social development in Denmark, not only for the population as a whole but for specific identifiable groups of people. It is important, however, to describe differences among various groups only to the extent they are systematic. Consequently, the choice of background variables becomes important.

Background variables

The selected background variables are few; their significance varies according to

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Page 4: Living Conditions in Denmark

the issue being described and their selection reflects pragmatic as well as theoreti- cal considerations. The variables are:

(a) age (b) sex (c) regional origin (d) income (e) occupational status (f) social class

Various criteria might be used when selecting background variables. A pragma- tic consideration might be whether the information may be obtained for all the selected components of living conditions. From a theoretical point of view a certain background variable is selected because it is thought either to enhance or to impair living conditions, or, more generally stated, to affect living conditions systematically. The background variables, age and sex, are found to fulfil both these criteria.

The fact that several of the selected areas of concern - health, education, income, working opportunities, etc. - are found to vary systematically in accor- dance with age, sex and regional origin, has led to the conclusion that distributive aspects of living conditions should preferably be presented with special reference to life-cycles. When living conditions vary in accordance with age, this may be interpreted as the combined result of two factors, i.e. the time at which a certain generation was born (wars, crises, etc.) and the societal conditions related to the process of aging as such.

In current statistics the generational effects and the effects of aging are generally contaminated and cannot be separated. However, in cases where such information may be obtained through retrospective studies or otherwise it will be included. Furthermore, when family relations is used as a background variable, type of family is defined in a way directly reflecting stages of life.

Criteria for the selection of data It is apparent from the above that the presentation of statistics on living conditions is a task that exceeds that of selecting and collecting existing social statistics. That a great number of national statistics skilfully produced is found inadequate with respect to the description of living conditions is due to the following reasons.

First, the data presented should describe conditions of life for individuals or groups of individuals, for instance belonging to certain age groups, sex groups, occupational groups, etc.

Second, the data should reflect the differing individual conditions resulting from living in Danish society as distinct from other specific societies, i.e. data should be output-oriented. It is, in other words, the purpose to describe results rather than the processes that produce them.

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Page 5: Living Conditions in Denmark

Third, as a consequence of the output criterion, the data should show the degree to which individuals or groups of individuals possess certain specified resources. Accordingly, it is not the intention to show the degree to which individuals have access to certain societal resources. The difference between the two approaches may be illustrated by the following example. Hospitals are societal resources to which individuals may have varying degrees of access. Health, on the other hand, is an individual resource the possession of which may vary from one individual to another or from one group to another.

In the publication it has been decided to describe the extent to which individuals possess certain resources rather than the extent to which certain needs are fulfil- led. The two approaches are of course not mutually exclusive, since a given need may be fulfilled by various different means and since a given means (resource) may be used to fulfil various different needs. To describe the degree to which certain needs are fulfilled for certain groups at various points of time is more problematic, however, than the description of which resources certain groups possess at diffe- rent points of time. This latter approach does not claim that certain needs are in fact fulfilled, only that certain needs may be fulfilled once they arise. Whereas the emphasis on needs and their fulfilment will answer questions such as the extent to which the individual is able to fulfil his own need (education), the resource approach answers questions such as the extent to which the individual possesses a resource (education) that may affect other aspects of his life, regardless of whether he himself is aware of this need (to be educated) or not.

Fourth, the resource approach implies that the data are objective rather than subjective, i.e. that conditions of life are measured independently of the way individuals themselves perceive their conditions. However, exceptions may be made from this criterion for areas where objective measures are lacking or are difficult to obtain.

Fifth, the data presented should by direct measures rather than indirect. Similar to the criterion about objective measures, indirect measures are used where direct measures are not available.

Summary

This type of publication must necessarily serve many purposes with respect to the evaluation of social trends. It does not test specific hypotheses, or devote particu- lar attention to problems that are pertinent to Danish society at present, unem- ployment for instance. Rather, the over-all aim is to present as much detailed information as possible on how living conditions differ between various groups of people, and how these conditions have developed during the post-war period. Such description should at the same time present a broader view of the living conditions of the Danish population as a whole.

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