Methodological Challenges: From the First to the Second Wave of the World Love Index

Silvia Cataldi, Federica Floridi () and Marco Palmieri
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Silvia Cataldi: Department of Psychology of Developmental and Socialization Processes, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy
Federica Floridi: Department of Psychology of Developmental and Socialization Processes, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy
Marco Palmieri: Department of Communication and Social Research, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy

Social Sciences, 2024, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-16

Abstract: This article is methodological in nature, addressing and discussing the challenges the research team encountered in constructing a new international well-being index called the World Love Index. This index represents the first quantitative operationalization of the concept of Social Love, which seeks to capture actions or social relationships characterized by excess and care for the benefit of individuals outside the primary circle, loved for their irreducibility. Starting with a discussion of the project’s objective rooted in the Beyond GDP debate, the article first analyzes the theoretical definition of Social Love and its semantic dimensions for operationalization. It then focuses on the methodological construction of the index through secondary data analysis, particularly examining the transition from the first wave to the second wave. Through the first wave of the WLI, this concept was systematically investigated on a transnational level. However, the first wave faced criticism for its weaknesses due to decisions made during the index’s construction. This paper, from a purely methodological perspective, demonstrates how the second wave of the WLI aims to address these challenges and turn them into strengths.

Keywords: World Love Index; social love; methodology; secondary data analysis; transnational data (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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