Mexico’s Survey of Self-reported Well-being (ENBIARE) provides data on people’s perceptions of well-being, disaggregated by region. It follows the OECD’s Guidelines on Measuring Subjective Well-being.
Mexico’s Survey of Self-reported Well-being (ENBIARE)
Abstract
Context
The Mexican National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI)’s 2021 Survey of Self-reported Well-being (ENBIARE) draws on the recommendations of the 2009 report from the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress (also known as the Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi report), as well as the OECD’s guidelines for measuring Subjective Well-being. The goal of the survey is to gain a comprehensive understanding of Mexico’s society and people by complementing objective measures with subjective indicators of well-being.
The Survey builds on earlier efforts to apply condensed and extended subjective well-being measurement modules (known as BIARE modules, after the Spanish abbreviation of self-reported well-being) to existing surveys. The first BIARE Pilot module accompanied the National Household Expenditure Survey (ENGASTO) in early 2012, with results released in October of that year. Since July 2013, in the first month of each quarter, the BIARE Basic module accompanies the National Survey on Consumer Confidence (ENCO). In 2014 the first BIARE Extended module was developed, linked to the Socio-economic Conditions Module.
Description and key outcomes
The 2021 ENBIARE questionnaire is a comprehensive INEGI survey conducted on adults 18 years or older via direct interviews. It comprised two questionnaires: the first on household characteristics and conditions, and the second covering self-reported well-being (BIARE) questions.
The BIARE questionnaire comprises 10 sections and 77 questions and collects self-reported indicators of well-being from randomly selected members from the same households. It includes 6 different themes: subjective well-being, trust and support networks, time use in activities and networks, socioeconomic characterisation, vulnerability and exposure to adverse events, and social characterisation. Subjective well-being is assessed through life satisfaction, satisfaction across different life domains, and the balance of negative and positive emotions.
From September 2019 to September 2021, a specialised technical expert group on the measurement of income and well-being (Grupo Técnico Especializado en la Medición del Ingreso y el Bienestar, GTMIB), jointly coordinated by INEGI’s Adjunct Directorate-General for Research and the Ibero-American University’s department for Research on Development with Equity (EQUIDE), deliberated on the objective of designing a new national household questionnaire to combine measurement of income and multidimensional well-being. The multidisciplinary group published its recommendations in November 2021.
Policy relevance
The 2021 Survey of Self-Reported Well-being (ENBIARE) aims to inform policy by producing statistical information on different dimensions of well-being measurement; making visible how women and men perceive and evaluate their own situation; collecting information about a wide range of circumstances and events that people experience, to detect drivers and detractors of well-being; and making visible inequalities between population groups.
Further information
INEGI, Towards a Comprehensive Measurement of Well-being: Series of invited lectures,
https://www.inegi.org.mx/eventos/2020/towards/
INEGI, Indicadores de Bienestar por entidad federativa [Federal well-being indicators]
https://www.inegi.org.mx/app/bienestar/
INEGI (2021), Encuesta Nacional de Bienestar Autorreportado (ENBIARE) 2021 [National Survey of Self-Reported Well-being (ENBIARE) 2021], https://www.inegi.org.mx/programas/enbiare/2021/
INEGI (2021), Encuesta Nacional de Bienestar Autorreportado: ENBIARE 2021 [National Survey of Self-Reported Well-being: ENBIARE 2021], https://en.www.inegi.org.mx/contenidos/programas/enbiare/2021/doc/enbiare_2021_presentacion_resultados.pdf
Stiglitz, J., Sen, A., and Fitoussi, J.P. (2009), Report by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/8131721/8131772/Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi-Commission-report.pdf
Technical Group Specialised in the Measure of Income and Well-being (GTMIB), Hacia una Encuesta Social General: Resultados de los trabajos del Grupo Técnico Especializado en la Medición del Ingreso y el Bienestar [Towards a General Social Survey: Results from the Technical Group Specialized in the Measure of Income and Well-being], https://en.www.inegi.org.mx/contenidos/investigacion/grupos/doc/hacia_una_encuesta_social_general.pdf
OECD resources
OECD, How’s Life in your country? Country notes, Mexico, https://www.oecd.org/wise/measuring-well-being-and-progress.htm#country-notes
OECD (2013), OECD Guidelines on Measuring Subjective Well-being, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264191655-en
OECD (2015), Measuring Well-being in Mexican States, OECD Regional Development Studies, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264246072-en
