8. SOCIAL COHESION INDICATORS - OECD.org - …

1 8. SOCIAL COHESION INDICATORSSOCIETY AT A GLANCE 2011: OECD SOCIAL INDICATORS OECD 2011985. ToleranceThe degree of community acceptance of minority groupsis a measurable dimension of SOCIAL COHESION . Acceptanceof three such groups is considered here: ethnic minorities,migrants and gay and lesbian was the most tolerant country regarding averagecommunity acceptance of the minority groups (Panel A, ). Australia, New Zealand and the United Statestended to be relatively tolerant as well. The Nordic coun-tries were dispersed throughout the top half of the less tolerant end of was dominated by southernand eastern European countries and the OECD is little or no evidence that the onset of the crisis inlate 2008 has presaged a fall in tolerance of minoritygroups (Panel B, ).

2 On average, there was little change,with significant rises in tolerance in Slovenia, Austria andFrance offset by some large falls in tolerance in Italy, Turkeyand terms of groups, tolerance of ethnic minorities was thehighest for almost all countries and lowest for gays andlesbians, with tolerance of migrants in between ( ).There were very few exceptions to this strong rankingpattern by country. Exceptions included the Netherlands,Spain and Belgium, where higher numbers saw theircommunities as being more tolerant gay and lesbian peoplethan ethnic minorities and migrants. Inclusive countriestended to be tolerant along all three dimensions. Thecountry correlations of the three tolerance measures allexceed income was strongly and positively related toperceptions of community tolerance ( ).

3 By way ofcontrast, there was no relationship found between toler-ance and income inequality. A further notable feature ofthe data is that Don t know responses on tolerance wereoften very high relative to other Gallup questions. Highernon-response rates were also a feature of lower tolerancecountries, suggesting that this is a more sensitive questionwhere tolerance is harder to notesFigure : 2006 for Switzerland, 2008 for Iceland and Norway,2009 for Estonia, Israel and South Africa. Change refers to 2005/10 forCanada, 2006/08 for Norway, 2006/09 for Estonia and South Africa,2006/10 for France, Ireland, New Zealand, Finland, Portugal, Chile,Austria, Slovenia, Korea, the Russian Federation and : 2006 for Switzerland, 2008 for Iceland and Norway,2009 for Estonia, Israel and South : Community tolerance of minority groups: 2006 forSwitzerland, 2008 for Iceland and on data for Israel: and measurementData on tolerance is drawn from the Gallup WorldPoll.

4 The Gallup World Poll is conducted in over140 countries around the world based on a commonquestionnaire, translated into the predominantlanguages of each country. With few exceptions, allsamples are probability based and nationally repre-sentative of the resident population aged 15 yearsand over in the entire country, including rural this ensures a high degree of comparabilityacross countries, results may be affected by samplingand non-sampling error. Sample sizes vary betweenaround 1 000 and 4 000, depending on the tolerance index is the ratio of the people whorespond yes to the question of whether the city orarea where they live a good place or not a good placeto live for ethnic minorities, migrants, or gay orlesbian people to all people SOCIAL COHESION INDICATORSSOCIETY AT A GLANCE 2011: OECD SOCIAL INDICATORS OECD 2011995.

5 Tolerance of minorities is highest in Anglophone and Northern European countries2030405090807060-15-10-50105202 5153084848181817878767675757371706966646 1616058545351484744444342423636352671543 4313130-1-1-2-12-9-7-50-5-10-6-112212512 098305511111782606 Panel A. Community tolerance index of minority groups,percentages, 2010 ( ) Panel B. Change in tolerance of minority groupsbetween 2007 and 2010 (% points) CanadaAustraliaNew ZealandNetherlandsIcelandIrelandSpainLux embourgUnited StatesDenmarkSwedenFranceUnited KingdomGermanyNorwayBelgiumFinlandPortug alOECDS witzerlandChileAustriaSloveniaItalyGreec eMexicoSlovak RepublicHungaryKoreaJapanCzech RepublicIsraelPolandTurkeyEstoniaBrazilS outh AfricaChinaRussian Tolerance is highest for ethnic minorities and lowest for gays and lesbians across the OECD203040506070 OECDO ther major economiesEthnic minoritiesMigrantsGays and lesbiansAverage community tolerance of selected groups (%)

6 , Richer countries have more tolerant communities010 00020 00030 00040 0002030405060708090 CANAUSNZLNLDISLIRLESPLUXUSADNKSWEFRAGBRD EUNORBELFINPRTCHEAUTITAGRCMEXSVKHUNKORJP NCZEPOLTURM edian equivalised household income,mid-2000s, USD PPPC ommunity tolerance of minority groups, 2010 Source:Gallup World Poll ( ), OECD (2008), Growing Unequal? Income Distribution and Poverty in OECD Countries( ).1 2