How Meaningful is the Elite Quality Index Ranking?

Abstract

The Elite Quality Index (EQx) attempts to measure the propensity of elites—on aggregate—to create value, rather than to rent seek. The index has attracted worldwide media and press attention. In their articles, journalists have based their analyses primarily on their own countries’ position in the EQx ranking. But how meaningful is the EQx ranking? How do the uncertainties underlying some of the assumptions made in the index propagate to the country rankings? We conduct a global uncertainty and sensitivity analysis (UA and SA) of the EQx and compute Sobol’ first and total order sensitivity indices using state of the art estimators, in order to scrutinise the implications of index assumptions and assess the reliability of the EQx ranking. The UA suggests that the EQx ranking of 2021 (EQx2021) is largely stable for the top 50 countries, but exhibits considerable uncertainties especially for middle and lower performing countries. The SA highlights the handling of missing data, the normalisation process and the weighting scheme as most important methodological choices, while the largest potential for improvement is observed in how raw missing indicator data is handled.

Elite Quality Report 2023

“…Step 8, the statistical assessment, is addressed in a peer-reviewed paper published in Social Indicator Research that critically reflects on the EQx2021 rankings (Diebold, 2022).…”

“…Ranking positions of middle and lower performing countries appear to be more sensitive towards methodological choices, and especially the availability of data. Any interpretation or conclusion on the elite quality of these countries based on the exact rank should therefore be treated with caution, and ranking positions should not be taken at face value but rather be seen as indicative (Diebold, 2022).…”