Session 1 of the virtual event series on Implementing a well-being approach to policy and international partnerships in Latin America, 28-30 June 2022, More information at: https://www.oecd.org/wise/lac-well-being-metrics.htm

1. Chile’s Social Wellbeing Survey:
key findings and some challenges
Social Observatory Division - Undersecretary of Social Evaluation
Ministry of Social Development and Family
June 28th, 2022

2. Context: a sustained improvement in
material conditions
• Low poverty
• High income
• High (though
decreasing)
income inequality
• (Relatively) High
rates of access to
social services

4. What was (traditional)
socioeconomic data not telling us?

5. Very little information on wellbeing
• No oficial data source. Most data on meterial life conditions. Lack
of data on people’s perspectives about their own lives.
• Scarce data from a few surveys, hard to compare across surveys
and over time.
• In November 2019, the Ministry of Social Development and Family
begins the design of a new survey to measure social well-being.
Survey was implemented in early 2021.
• Designed as a subsample of CASEN (Chile’s main socioeconomic
survey), so both data sources can be linked. No other survey in the
country has this information on household conditions.

6. How to measure social wellbeing?
• The Ministry developed a model based on the OECD’s How’s life?
project and Sen’s Capability approach.
Income
Labour
Housing
MATERIAL CONDITIONS
CASEN / EBS EBS
Health
Work-life balance
Education
Social relationships
Civic engagement and governance
Environment
Personal Security
Subjective well-being
QUALITYOF LIFE
RESULTS
OPPORTUNITIES

7. People face different sources of economic insecurity that affect their s wellbeing and limit
their opportunities. This insecurity is not perceived as to be reduced by education and/or
employment.
There is tension associated to the use of time in people’s everyday lives, which is reported as an
imbalance between what people want to do and what they actually can do with their time. The
labour market does not provide the flexibility needed to achieve a more balanced life.
Living in an unsafe environment, and one with poor environmental quality limits people’s
chances to perform the daily activities that impact their wellbeing. These problems are highly
territorialized, and are observed mainly in the north part of the country and some big cities.
There are gaps and deficiencies regarding social cohesion. This has an expression in how
people interact and treat each other, their levels of participation in social life, and the trust they
place on institutions and on other people.
Mental health issues cut across all areas of wellbeing, affecting people from all
socioeconomic levels. Deficits detected in any of the dimensions of wellbeing studied in this
survey correlate with poorer mental health outcomes.
5
1
2
3
4
Key findings: Five policy areas to
increase people’s wellbeing

8. 1. Economic Insecurity
73,9%
Would have problems to cover
basic needs in the face of loss
of income by one member of
the household. (1)
18,5%
Unable to pay for basic
needs without using credit
or loan. (3)
51,4%
Feel financially
unprotected in case of
serious health
problems. (2)
65,3%
27,9%
Already in debt.
Indebted and struggling to
repay (4)
82,9%
Face at leastoneof
these (1,2, 3or4)
Debt is not an option for all:

9. 2. Life-Work Balance and time
had or have a job that allows
them “little” or “not at all” to
reconcile their social/family
life and work
28% 40,2%
suffers “double presence”*
(50,4% ofwomen
and 33%ofmen)
Importantgendergap
Womenspend1.7morehoursthanmenadaydoingcarework,
and1.5moreondomestictasks
Onaverage, 3,2
morehoursperday
onunpaidwork.
* To think constantly on domestic and/or family chores
while at work

10. 3. Unsafe environments limit activities
41,9%
havewitnessedproblemssuchas
druguseor sales,street fights,etc.
65,7%
feel insecure in various
situations in their
neighborhood or locality
75,8%
have stopped doing some
activity for fear of being a
victim of a crime
(
82,2%women)
22,5%
assessairqualityasdeficient.
42,1%
have stopped carrying
out activities due to poor
environmental quality

11. 4. Social cohesion
25,3%
have felt
mistreated,
abused, or
neglected
62,7% Immigrants because of their nationality
50,2% Elderly people because of their age
43,2% People in poverty because of their social status
39,5% Women because of their gender
37,6% People with disabilities because of their health condition
30,6% Immigrants
28,4% Between 18 and 44 years of age.
28,3% Indigenous people
27,0% People in poverty
27,0% Women
Trust:
39,0% Littleornotrustinothers
53,5% Peoplewithdisabilities
50,2% Peopelinpoverty
46,5% Indigeniouspeople
42,0% Women
43,2% Elderly

12. 5. Mental health HIGHER PREVALENCE OF MENTAL
HEALTH PROBLEMS IN :
20,8% 25,8% 23,5% 36,9%
People with
economic
insecurity
(Vs. 8,5%)
Workers with Jobs
that offer less
opportunities
(Vs. 10,3%)
Workers without
opportunities
provided by their
educational level
(Vs. 9,3%)
People living with
housing problems
(Vs. 11,6%)
22,3% 24,8% 28,8%
Those who feel
insecure about
the environment
in which they
live (Vs. 11,8%)
Those who have seen
their activities limited
by environmental
problems (Vs. 14,3%)
for those who lack
people they can turn
to in case of
necessity (vs.
13,7%)

13. Policy use of the (new) data
• So far, limited use
• E.g. “National health strategy for the 2030 Health Goals” (perceptions about quality
of service)
• Highlighted by NGO (e.g. gaps in wellbeing of people with dissabilites)
• High potential (bc. data can be linked to Casen)

14. Policy use of the (new) data
• Main challenges
• First wave during the pandemic: priorities and focus
• First results came out during last year of previous administration
• Reputation requires time (everyone trusts Casen, very few know the EBS)
• Most interest by policymakers at the local level, but survey design does not allow for
reliable estimations at subregional levels
• Requires action/coordination across sectors and government units for small areas.

15. The way forward
• EBS is linked to Casen → Will be conducted every two years
• 2023 (second quarter):
• Conducted face to face, N~15K; CAPI
• Review of dimensions (e.g. access to leisure, cultural goods)
• First results, by the end of 2023
• Build reputation and introduce it to policymakers (MPI offers a blueprint)
• Wellbeing survey for people under 18?
• Link to administrative records? SAE?