Considering social cohesion in quality of life assessments: Concept and measurement

In recent years, the concept of social cohesion has received great attention in scientific research as well as in politics. It represents a central policy goal at the national and the supranational level as declared for example by many policy documents of the European Union. The present paper integrates social cohesion into the components of quality of life and distinguishes two essential goal dimensions inherent in the concept: the inequality dimension and the social capital dimension. The first dimension incorporates the goals of reducing disparities, promoting equal opportunities and combating social exclusion, while the second dimension deals with all aspects aiming at strengthening social relations, interactions and ties. A proposal is made on how to measure this conceptualisation of social cohesion within the framework of a European System of Social Indicators, and some examples of indicators of social cohesion in Europe are discussed.