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Quality of Life Experienced by Human Capital: An Assessment of European Cities

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  • Paulo Morais
  • Vera Miguéis
  • Ana Camanho

Abstract

This paper aims to provide an assessment of urban quality of life (QoL) of European cities from the perspective of qualified human resources. The competitiveness of cities relies increasingly in their capacity to attract highly educated workers, as they are important assets for firms when choosing a location. Qualified human resources, on the other hand, tend to value QoL over other urban features. This is why policymakers and urban planners need to evaluate QoL of cities and be provided with tools that can guide action to improvements in this area. We assess urban QoL by means of a composite indicator constructed using data envelopment analysis, based on Urban Audit data and Mercer’s framework of analysis, to give account of 246 European cities. Besides presenting a ranking of the best and the worst scores of QoL, this methodology allows benchmarking strategies. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Paulo Morais & Vera Miguéis & Ana Camanho, 2013. "Quality of Life Experienced by Human Capital: An Assessment of European Cities," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 110(1), pages 187-206, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:110:y:2013:i:1:p:187-206
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-011-9923-5
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    9. Niusha Esmaeilpoorarabi & Tan Yigitcanlar & Mirko Guaralda, 2016. "Place quality and urban competitiveness symbiosis? A position paper," International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 7(1), pages 4-21.
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    13. Enrico Ivaldi & Guido Bonatti & Riccardo Soliani, 2014. "Composite Index for Quality of Life in Italian Cities: An Application to URBES Indicators," Review of Economics & Finance, Better Advances Press, Canada, vol. 4, pages 18-32, November.
    14. Beatriz Valcárcel-Aguiar & Pilar Murias & Alexandre Vecino-Aguirre, 2022. "Liveability Versus Sustainability in Spanish Cities: First Evidences Using Synthetic Indicators," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(4), pages 1935-1960, August.
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    16. José Sobreiro Filho & Enzo Barberio Mariano & Vinicius Amorim Sobreiro & Charbel José Chiappetta Jabbour, 2016. "Beyond the Agrarian Reform Policies in Brazil: An Empirical Study of Brazilian States from 1995 Through 2011," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 129(3), pages 1093-1114, December.
    17. Morrison, Nicola & Szumilo, Nikodem, 2019. "Universities’ global research ambitions and their localised effects," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 290-301.
    18. Comim, Flavio & Hirai, Tadashi, 2022. "Sustainability and Human Development Indicators: A Poset Analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    19. Ghasem Javadi & Mohammad Taleai, 2020. "Integration of User Generated Geo-contents and Official Data to Assess Quality of Life in Intra-national Level," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 152(1), pages 205-235, November.
    20. Beatriz Valcárcel-Aguiar & Pilar Murias & David Rodríguez-González, 2018. "Sustainable Urban Liveability: A Practical Proposal Based on a Composite Indicator," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-18, December.
    21. Justin Ehrlich & Simon Medcalfe & Shane Sanders, 2021. "Composite Index Ranking of Economic Well-Being in U.S. Metropolitan Areas: How Prevalent are Rank Anomalies?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 157(2), pages 543-562, September.
    22. Ana Paula Barreira & Carla Amado & Sérgio Santos & Jorge Andraz & Maria Helena Guimarães, 2021. "Assessment and Determinants of the Quality of Life in Portuguese Cities," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 44(6), pages 647-683, November.

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