Rethinking Regional Attractiveness in the New Global Environment

Annex B. Attractiveness indicators

Table A B.1.  Attractiveness Indicators

	Dimension	Description	Indicator	Investors	Talents	Visitors	Source/Periodicity/ Latest year available/Coverage
Economic attractiveness	Economy	This dimension provides an insight into the level of wealth and economic performance of the region, as well as its capacity to have a diversity of industrial activities.	GDP per capita (in USD, constant purchasing power parity, PPP)	x	x		OECD Regional Database; annual; 2020; OECD regions (TL2, TL3)
			Gross value-added per worker (in USD, constant PPP)	x			OECD Regional Database; annual; 2020; OECD regions (TL2)
			Economic diversity of employment by 10 economic sectors	x			Inverse OECD calculation of the Herfindahl Index based on sectoral employment data by place of work; annual; 2020 OECD regions (TL2)
	Innovation and entrepreneurship	The innovation dimension looks at the region’s ability to provide a favourable environment for entrepreneurship and research.	R&D total personnel (% of total)	x	x		Eurostat and OECD Regional Database; annual; 2019; EU regions (TL2)
			Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) patent applications (per million residents)	x	x		OECD Regional Database; annual; 2018; OECD regions (TL2)
			Birth rate of employer enterprises	x	x		Eurostat; annual; 2019; OECD regions (TL2)
			Subjective: Share of the population who think that their city or region is a good place for people to live for people starting new businesses (%)	x	x		Gallup World Poll; multiannual; average 2017-21; OECD regions (TL2)
	Labour market	Labour market indicators help potential investors and talent assess the dynamism of the labour market.	Employment rate (15‑64 years old)	x	x		OECD Regional Database; annual/quarterly; 2021; OECD regions (TL2)
			Youth employment rate (15‑24 years old)	x	x		OECD Regional Database; annual/quarterly; 2021; OECD regions (TL2)
			Employment rate of immigrants compared to the native population as a difference (%)	x			OECD Regional Database; annual; 2020; OECD regions (TL2)
Visitor appeal	Tourism	This dimension covers both the region’s tourism infrastructure and its popularity with foreigners.	Number of tourist accommodation beds (per 1 000 inhabitants)	x			Eurostat; annual; 2021; EU regions (TL2)
			Number of nights spent in tourist accommodation (per 1 000 inhabitants)	x			Eurostat; annual/quarterly; 2020; EU regions (TL2)
			Share of overnight stays by foreign tourists (%)	x			Eurostat; annual/quarterly; 2019;EU regions (TL2)
	Cultural capital	This dimension highlights the role of cultural heritage in attracting talent, visitors and tourism-related FDI (like accommodation) in the region. All these elements are essential for a dynamic tourism sector and the promotion of quality of life.	Share of employment in culture and creative industries (%)	x	x	x	Eurostat; 2021; EU regions (TL2)
			Number of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritages Sites		x	x	World Heritage Sites UNESCO; 2019; OECD regions (TL2)
Land use and housing	Land	The land dimension assesses the pressure on agricultural and industrial land in the region.	Built-up area (% of total land area)		x	x	OECD Regional Database; 2019; OECD regions (TL2)
			Land prices (euro per hectare)		x	x	Eurostat ; annual ; 2021 ; EU regions (TL2)
			Evolution of land prices 2019/2020 (%)		x	x	OECD land prices database; 2019‑20; OECD regions (TL2)
			Total change in of land cover converted to artificial surfaces 2004-19 (%)		x	x	OECD Regional Database; 2004‑19; OECD regions (TL2)
	Housing	The housing dimension highlights the availability of housing in relation to the quality of life for residents, visitors and investors.	Housing expenses as a share of households disposable income (%)	x	x		OECD Regional Database; 2020; OECD regions (TL2)
			Subjective: Share of population without enough money for housing (%)	x	x		Gallup World Poll; multiannual; 2017-21 average; OECD regions (TL2)
			Subjective: Share of population satisfied with affordability of housing (%)	x	x		Gallup World Poll; multiannual; 2017-21 average; OECD regions (TL2)
Resident well‑being	Social cohesion	Social cohesion is an important measure of the vitality and shock resilience of a region. It can indicate to a potential investor, resident or visitor such things as the safety of the area and the general well-being of the local population.	Number of intentional homicides per 100,000 population	x	x	x	OECD Regional Database; 2021; OECD regions (TL2)
			Subjective: Share of the population that feel safe walking alone at night (%)		x	x	Gallup World Poll; multiannual;  2017-21 average; OECD regions (TL2)
			Poverty rate after taxes and transfers (national poverty line 60% of national median income)		x		Eurostat and OECD Regional Database; 2021; OECD regions (TL2)
			Voter turnout in general elections (in % of registered voters who voted)		x		OECD Regional Database; 2019; OECD regions (TL2)
			Quality of Government Index	x	x		European Quality of Government Index, EC; 2021; EU regions (TL2)
			Subjective: Share of population satisfied with the opportunities to meet people and make friends in the city or area where they live (%)		x	x	Gallup World Poll; multiannual; average 2017-21; OECD regions (TL2)
			Subjective: Satisfaction with life as a whole (from a scale from 0 to 10)		x		Gallup World Poll; multiannual; average 2017-21; OECD regions (TL2)
	Education	The education dimension assesses the region’s ability to reach out internationally through education but also measures the accessibility of institutions for younger people.	Share of international students in post-secondary student population (%)	x	x		OECD calculation based on ETER data; 2019; EU regions (TL2)
			Share of the population with tertiary education (%)	x	x		OECD Regional Database; 2021; OECD regions (TL2)
			Number of universities in the World's top 500 QS ranking		x		World University Rankings; 2021; OECD regions
			Proximity to primary education establishments (km)		x		Access and Cost of Education and Health Services joint EC-JRC and OECD report (2021); 2011; EU regions (TL2)
			Proximity to secondary education institutions (km)		x		Access and Cost of Education and Health Services joint EC-JRC and OECD report (2021); 2011; EU regions (TL2)
	Health	The health dimension considers issues of access to health services, potential health risks and satisfaction with these services, which are of great importance to those seeking to settle.	Air pollution (average level in µg/m³ experienced by the population)		x	x	OECD Regional Database; 2020; OECD regions (TL2)
			Number of doctors per 1000 inhabitants		x		OECD Regional Database; 2019; OECD regions (TL2)
			Subjective: Share of the population satisfied with the availability or quality of healthcare (%)		x		Gallup World Poll; multiannual;  2017-21 average; OECD regions (TL2)
			Proximity to hospital cardiology services (km)		x		Access and Cost of Education and Health Services joint EC-JRC and OECD report (2021); 2011; EU regions (TL2)
			Proximity to maternity and obstetric hospital services (km)		x
Connectedness	Digitalisation	The rapid development of teleworking as a result of the COVID-19 crisis has increased the need for access to fast and stable Internet connections. But in order to reap the benefits of digitalisation, access to digital infrastructure must also be accompanied by the adoption of digital technologies and a minimum of digital skills and thus improve the digital attractiveness of regions.	Share of households with access to very high internet speed (%)	x	x		OECD Regional Database; 2020; OECD regions (TL2)
			Share of fibre optic coverage of buildings (%)	x	x	x	Data updated on the basis of the OECD Regions at a Glance 2020 publication; 2020; OECD regions (TL2)
			Average download speed from a fixed device (national value=100)	x			OECD calculation based on Ookla database; 2021 Q2; OECD regions (TL2)
			Facebook Social Connectivity Index	x	x		OECD calculation based on data from the Facebook Social Connectivity Index.
	Transportation	The transport dimension measures the region’s offerings in terms of quality transport networks and various modalities.	Subjective: Share of individuals satisfied with the quality of public transport (%)		x		Gallup World Poll; multiannual; average 2017-21; OECD TL2 regions
			Daily number of passenger flights accessible within 90 minutes by car	x	x	x	European Regional Competitiveness Index 2019; 2016; EU regions (TL2)
			Population that can be reached by rail (within 90 minutes) per 100 nearby inhabitants (within 120km radius)	x		x	European Regional Competitiveness Index 2019; 2014; EU regions (TL2)
			Population that can be reached by road (within 90 minutes) per 100 nearby inhabitants (within 120km radius)	x		x	European Regional Competitiveness Index 2019; 2016; EU regions (TL2)
Natural environment	Environment	Environmental indicators help visitors and talent to understand the quality of the environment and importance given locally to environmental preservation efforts.	Subjective: Share of the population satisfied with efforts to preserve the environment (%)		x	x	Gallup World Poll; multiannual; average 2017-21; OECD regions (TL2)
			Share of municipal waste recycled (%)		x	x	OECD Regional Database; 2020; OECD regions (TL2)
			Greenhouse gas emissions produced by the transport industry (tonnes of CO2 equivalent per capita)	x	x	x	OECD Regional Database; 2018; OECD regions (TL2)
			Share of renewables in electricity production (%)	x	x		OECD Regional Database; 2019; OECD regions (TL2)
	Natural capital	Natural capital is important for attractiveness in that those wishing to move to, invest in or visit a region value the quality of the local environment for the activities they carry out.	Tree cover rate (% of total area)		x	x	OECD Environmental Database; 2019; OECD regions (TL2)
			Evolution of the surface area of tree cover 2004-2019 (%)		x	x	OECD Environmental Database; 2004‑19; OECD regions (TL2)
			Share of protected areas (%)		x	x	IUCN and UNEP-WCMC (2017), the World Database on Protected Areas (WPDA)