Does a country’s ranking in quality of life measures and per capita income influence how you view that country? In other words, if a specific country is better off or wealthier than you original thought, does that make you have greater respect for it?

21 comments

1. This does not really affect whether I like a country or not.

2. It has very little effect on my opinion of the country.

3. I accept those QoL standards when ranking a country but that doesn’t affect whether I “like” a country or not.

4. Most of those polls and rankings value things that, to me, are not directly related to true quality of life. So no. I just don’t take them seriously.

   They would rank living a backwoods relaxed life I love very lowly. That’s all well and good, but who are they to tell somebody living exactly how they want and enjoy it that they obviously have a lower standard of living?

   My true measure on quality of life is how achievable living the type of life you want to live is. If people in another country are doing that, good for them and on my personal scale I rate that country highly.

5. No. I take all these indices with so many grains of salt that it gives me kidney stones.

6. Its wealth? No.

   How humane is it to its citizens and also to animals?

7. Not a bit

8. It doesn’t really effect my opinion of the country. I do like seeing places have a good quality of life, relatively free markets, and general prosperity. I think those are hallmarks of a well managed country.

   I like to see people thrive.

9. Not in the very least.

10. No.

11. Not really

12. It isn’t really about “respect” per se. It definitely affects the way I understand the material realities of that nation. I know that GDP/capita isn’t the be all end all. But it helps me to understand what day to day life is like for the residents.

13. Those composite QoL indices tend to combine a bunch of things I like, things I don’t like, and things I consider unimportant. So a country with a high HDI might pique my interest for more research, I’ll try to not have the HDI directly affect my opinion of the country.

    For example, Singapore is fairly highly rated, but with their cruel justice system and lack of strong LGBT rights, I don’t consider them a country worthy of respect.

14. No because even those polls are subjective and based on factors that may or may not matter to me

    Just like how many polls rank cities social scenes based on how many bars and breweries there are per capita. I don’t really drink and hanging out at a brewery isn’t the only definition of socializing

15. I don’t exactly think to myself “Gee, I wonder which countries I should and should not respect? I’d better research the per capita income to find out.”

16. Yes it does.

    A country with a very high living standard is likely a more pleasant place to visit

    It may indicate that they have a healthy culture or a good political system.

    That doesn’t mean that I don’t like countries that have low living standards though

17. Maybe gives me a general idea, but taken with a grain of salt, things like quality of life are difficult to measure and basically impossible for true apples to apples comparisons between countries of very different cultures. Per capita income can be skewed by significant income inequality and what you can actually buy with a certain income varies a lot throughout the world.

18. No. Just as my opinion of people I know don’t change once they share their standard of living.

19. Until the UN starts stopping tyrants instead of making museums after, I have no respect for it.

20. I take all of these indices with a grain of salt. Their general position is important, (Are you #130 in every metric? Yeah, you probably aren’t the best place to live) but their exact position is not.

21. Not at all.