SIPHER Inclusive Economy DataSets

The SIPHER Inclusive Economy Datasets were developed to provide a meaningful collection of data that can be used by researchers and policy actors to explore the extent and nature of economic inclusion across Great Britain.

A key topic of interest for SIPHER is the relationship between inclusive economy policies and wider health outcomes and inequalities. To help explore this we developed this set of inclusive economy indicators for use in modelling work.  

Currently, there is no universally accepted definition of what constitutes an inclusive economy. At SIPHER we focus on economic inclusion rather than inclusive growth. Our collection of 13 key inclusive economy indicators was informed by an iterative co-production process with policy partners.

A Technical Paper on the development of the Local Authority Level Dataset originally published in August 2022 was revised in June 2023 to address subsequent indicator changes made due to data availability and reliability issues.  

The SIPHER Inclusive Economy (Local Authority Level) Dataset was launched in October 2023. 

The SIPHER Inclusive Economy (Ward Level) Dataset was launched in November 2024.

See Related Resources for a full technical report, summary overview and indicator set workbooks. 

OSF Repository Dataset for SIPHER Inclusive Economy (Local Authority Level)

OSF Repository Dataset for SIPHER Inclusive Economy (Ward Level)

Interactive Map: SIPHER Inclusive Economy (Local Authority Level)

Interactive Map: SIPHER Inclusive Economy (Ward Level)

See Related Resources for a full technical report and indicator set workbooks. 

SIPHER Glossary For clarification of our terminology and use of acronyms.

Contact: sipher@glasgow.ac.uk

Related Resources

Publications:

News

  • Article on the association of quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE) and the inclusive economy - March 2024

This publication provides a novel statistical approach to the estimation of quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE) for small areas in Great Britain. By studying it’s association with 13 inclusive economy indicators the paper highlights policy priorities for improving population health and reducing health inequalities. All analysis and data are provided as part of a supplementary reproducibility pack.

Estimating quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE) for local authorities in Great Britain and its association with indicators of the inclusive economy: a cross-sectional study

Reproducibility pack with detailed analysis and results  - includes all code and data

 

  • Revised Inclusive Economy Indicator Reports   - June 2023

The Inclusive Economy Indicator Set: Technical Paper originally published in August 2022 was revised to address subsequent indicator changes made due to data availability and reliability issues.  

In addition, a shorter summary overview of the Indicator Set was also produced.  

SIPHER Inclusive Economy Indicator Set: Technical paper [PDF]

SIPHER Inclusive Economy Indicator Set: Summary [PDF]

 

  • Indicator Set now available online  - May 2023

The SIPHER Inclusive Economy Indicator Set  (local authority level) have been made available as an open access resource at the Open Science Foundation.

SIPHER Inclusive Economy (local authority level) Dataset at OSF

 

Techincal Information Inclusive Economy (Local Authority Level) Dataset

Provides technical details of the characteristics including strengths and limitations for this data set. 

 

CharacteristicDetails
Purpose This dataset was designed to provide a meaningful operationalisation of the underlying concept of the inclusive economy at local authority level, and to enable statistical models to further explore the concept.
Context SIPHER has adopted a particular understanding which focuses on economic inclusion, rather than inclusive growth. There are multiple approaches and definitions of what constitutes an inclusive economy. To date, there is no single definition of the concept. In response, SIPHER has developed a collection of indicators for researchers and policymakers which describes the extent and nature of economic inclusion across local authorities in Great Britain. The creation of the dataset has been informed by an initial review of the underlying theoretical concepts. The selection and estimation of all indicators benefited from co-production between SIPHER researchers and policy partners.
Strengths The dataset has been subject to a thorough geographical harmonisation and review process. In addition, the dataset contains a number of supplementary health and demographic indicators for all local authorities. The major strength of this dataset is the wide range of potential applications; from descriptive analyses to studies examining the complex relationships between economic inclusion and health and wellbeing. The dataset is available as an open access resource via the Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/vnsur/
Limitations For a few of the indicators, exact definitions differ between countries. For example, there are different definitions of fuel poverty in use in Scotland and England. In these cases, national deciles were created and comparable alternative indicators were identified. For example, food insecurity was used as an alternative cost-of-living indicator.
Geography Longitudinal (2017-2021) and geographically harmonised data is available at the level of local authorities in England, Scotland, and Wales. The dataset covers all 363 local authorities in Great Britain, reflecting their 2021 boundaries according to ONS definition.
Variables / Indicators Details on all indicators are outlined in the Technical Report for the SIPHER Inclusive Economy Indicator Set – See Additional Resources.
Time Period Longitudinal data are available for every year between 2017 and 2021.
Missing Data Missing data were imputed using a sophisticated multiple imputation algorithm. In some cases, only cross-sectional measurements were available, which were carried forward or backward. For example, local elections (Indicator 6B) did not take place every single year.
Examples / Link with Other Models and Data The dataset is currently used in a k-means clustering machine learning study. The primary aim of this study is to identify clusters of similar local authorities and to examine the association of each cluster with a number of health outcomes. In another application, we explore the association between Quality-Adjusted Life Expectancy (QALE) and indicators of economic inclusion.
Software Requirements Requires a software that loads data, such as Excel, R, or Python. Access SIPHER Inclusive Economy Dataset Interactive Map - https://www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/sipher/products/inclusiveeconomydataset/ieinteractivemap/#d.en.1054750.
Data Requirements / Restrictions The final dataset is available as an open access resource.
Data / Code Available The final dataset and additional documentation are publicly available via the Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/vnsur/.
Training The data is accompanied by a comprehensive data dictionary which provides context relating to all variables included.

 

Techincal Information Inclusive Economy (Ward Level) Dataset

Provides technical details of the characteristics including strengths and limitations for this data set plus a List of Inclusive Economy Indicators. 

 

CharacteristicDetails
Purpose This dataset was designed to provide a meaningful operationalisation of the underlying concept of the inclusive economy at electoral ward level.
Context SIPHER has adopted a particular understanding which focuses on economic inclusion, rather than inclusive growth. There are multiple approaches and definitions of what constitutes an inclusive economy. To date, there is no single definition of the concept. In response, SIPHER has developed a collection of indicators for researchers and policymakers which describes the extent and nature of economic inclusion across electoral wards in Great Britain. The creation of the dataset has been informed by an initial review of the underlying theoretical concepts. The selection and estimation of all indicators benefited from co-production between SIPHER researchers and policy partners.
Strengths The dataset has been subject to a thorough geographical harmonisation and review process. In addition, the dataset contains a number of supplementary wellbeing and demographic indicators for all local authorities. The major strength of this dataset is the wide range of potential applications; from descriptive analyses to studies examining the complex relationships between economic inclusion and health and wellbeing. The dataset is available as an open access resource via the Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/s24ye/
Limitations It should be noted that the metrics for two indicators differ from those in the SIPHER Inclusive Economy (Local Authority) Level Dataset: (1) Indicator 5A (poverty), low income before housing costs (BHC) was used, rather than after housing costs (AHC); (2) Indicator 5B (cost of living), fuel poverty was used, rather than food poverty.
Geography Longitudinal (2019-2021) and geographically harmonised data is available at the level of electoral wards in England, Scotland, and Wales. The dataset covers 7,973 of 8,020 wards in Great Britain, reflecting their 2022 boundaries according to ONS definition.
Variables / Indicators Details on all indicators are outlined in the Technical Report for the SIPHER Inclusive Economy Indicator Set – See Additional Resources.
Time Period Longitudinal data are available for every year between 2019 and 2021.
Missing Data Missing data were imputed using a sophisticated multiple imputation algorithm. In some cases, only cross-sectional measurements were available, which were carried forward or backward. For example, local elections (Indicator 6B) did not take place every single year.
Examples / Link with Other Models and Data The dataset relies on the SIPHER Synthetic Population for 8/13 of the inclusive economy indicators. It also includes several demographic and wellbeing indicators in the form of the Shortform-12 (SF-12) measures, physical and mental components scores (PCS and MCS).
Software Requirements Requires a software that loads data, such as Excel, R, or Python. Access SIPHER Inclusive Economy Dataset Interactive Map - https://www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/sipher/products/inclusiveeconomydataset/ieinteractivemap/#d.en.1054750
Data Requirements / Restrictions The final dataset is available as an open access resource.
Data / Code Available The final dataset and additional documentation are publicly available via the Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/s24ye/.
Training The data is accompanied by a comprehensive data dictionary which provides context relating to all variables included.

List of Inclusive Economy Indicators Ward level

Type​Indicator​Explanation
Economic outcomes​ Participation in paid employment Percentage of working-age people (aged 16-64) who are employed
Economic outcomes​ Involuntary exclusion from the labour market Percentageof working-age people who are long-term unemployed or inactive due to ill health or disability
Economic outcomes​ Wealth inequality Ratio of median house prices in most expensive neighbourhood to median in least expensive
Economic outcomes​ Earnings inequality Ratio of weekly earnings (residents in full-time work) between 80th and 20th percentiles
Economic outcomes​ Poverty Percentage of children living in low income households​ (based on national relative threshold, before adjustment for housing costs)
Economic outcomes​ Decent pay Percentage of employee jobs that are paid at or above Real Living Wage (as defined by the Living Wage Foundation)
Economic outcomes​ Job security Percentage of employees in permanent work
Wider outcomes / enablers​ Skills and qualifications Percentage of adults aged 20-49 with a Level 2 or higher National Vocational Qualification (NVQ)
Wider outcomes / enablers​ Digital exclusion Percentage of individuals who are classified as a) e-withdrawn, b) passive and uncommitted internet users, or c) settled offline communities; based on the Internet User Classification (IUC)
Wider outcomes / enablers​ Physical connectivity Public transport accessibility measure, percentage of Lower Super Output Area (LSOAs)/Data Zones (DZs) within the local authority area that are among the 50% least accessible LSOAs/DZs for each devolved nation
Wider outcomes / enablers​ Housing affordability Ratio of median house prices to median gross annual earnings
Wider outcomes / enablers​ Costs of living Percentage of households experiencing fuel poverty
Wider outcomes / enablers​ Inclusion in decision-making Percentage of eligible voters participating in local elections