Composite indicator in evaluation of the regional disparities in quality of life in the Czech Republic

Abstract

Differences in quality of life and in the conditions for life between regions are affected by many factors that can be described by many partial indicators. The paper has in principle been aimed at quantification and a complex assessment of the positions of districts as seen from the viewpoint of a composite indicator. The composite indicator was designed and computed based on a wide spectrum of partial indicators describing regional disparities in the conditions for life of CR population. Computations were done based on data from the CR districts as administered according to the 2010 state of territorial distribution of the Republic. Various ways of design of composite indicators bring along plenty of discussion. A design of one dimensionless aggregated indicator always is based on an intuitive approach of the researcher and it brings about a lot of advantages as well as disadvantages. The main positive property is considered to be the chance of a fast and clear comparison of the areas under study. The disadvantages of the aggregated expression of quality of life as based on one only indicator arise from the great simplification of reality and the omission of differences between partial facts under study. The conclusions of the paper will be aimed at the design of a composite measure to be employed in complex analysis of the quality of life key indicators’ mutual interactions. The conclusions’ presentation will be done using cartographic maps offering a suitable device for visual overview of the disparities discovered.