In particular it focuses on the question of why the guiding idea of equivalent living conditions ( gleichwertige Lebensverhältnisse), codified in the country’s Basic Law (Art. ![]() This paper investigates the specific use of indicators in the policy field of federal spatial planning in Germany. As a consequence, we know little about the different forms of using indicators in politics and how to explain them. Research on indicators has tended to focus much more on the genesis of indicators rather than on their actual use or non-use in society. Similarly, we do not know why some indicators have become central to the governance of some social fields while other indicators are not being used at all. In particular, it is still unclear why numbers are used in some social fields but not in others. While there seems to be a widespread consensus that this trend is occurring, the debate about its causes and consequences is far more controversial. It is commonly claimed that the use of numbers and indicators in society is on the rise . ![]() At the same time, a more systematic formalization of this idea has been hampered, firstly, by the entangled competencies of German federalism and secondly, by the ambiguous idea of equivalent living conditions which has faced competition by the more narrowly defined concept of regional economic development and the related GDP indicator. Why is this the case? Drawing on literature about the use of scientific knowledge in politics as well as on social studies of quantification processes, we argue that regular monitoring of regional disparities has increased the political salience of the idea of equivalent living conditions. ![]() While the use of indicators is very common in this area, the guiding idea of equivalent living conditions has not been operationalized with an agreed on set of indicators nor do particular policy instruments targeting ‘unequivalent’ living conditions exist. Yet, it is still unclear why numbers are used in some social fields but not in others. It is commonly claimed that the use of numbers and indicators in society is on the rise.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |