A New Malaysian Quality of Life Index Based on Fuzzy Sets and Hierarchical Needs

The Malaysian Quality of Life Index (MQLI) released by the Economic Planning Unit (EPU), has led authors to search for alternative method of expressing this index. One of the limitations in MQLI computations is the failure to recognise unequal weights for each accounted component. This paper offers a new way of expressing the quality of life index using a mathematical modelling based on fuzzy sets theory and the proposed weights based on Maslow’s theory of hierarchical human needs. The indices of 11 components that were used to compute MQLI, again be gathered as a basis in expressing a new Malaysian Fuzzy Quality of Life Index (MFQLI). The new indices for each component yielded through a normalisation process prior weighting and aggregation to compose a new MFQLI. It was found that a fuzzy sets approach with the inclusion of weights based on human needs yielded a better index of quality of life than the MQLI.

[1]  A. Sen,et al.  The Standard of Living: The Standard of Living: Lecture II, Lives and Capabilities , 1987 .

[2]  F. Bourguignon The Effect of Economic Growth on Social Structures , 2005 .

[3]  M. Hagerty Testing Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: National Quality-of-Life Across Time , 1999 .

[4]  D. Pearce,et al.  COST - BENEFIT ANALYSIS , 2020 .

[5]  Mohd Lazim Abdullah,et al.  Quality of Life Index of Three Selected States in the Peninsular Malaysia: Fuzzy Sets Approach , 2009 .

[6]  A. Maslow Motivation and Personality , 1954 .

[7]  Vicente Liern,et al.  Soft computing-based aggregation methods for human resource management , 2008, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[8]  Lotfi A. Zadeh,et al.  Fuzzy Sets , 1996, Inf. Control..

[9]  Amartya Sen,et al.  The Standard of Living. , 1988 .

[10]  D. O'Rourke,et al.  Measuring quality of life in culturally diverse populations. , 1996, Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Monographs.

[11]  A. Maslow The Farther Reaches of Human Nature , 1971 .

[12]  S. Zani,et al.  A Fuzzy Approach To The Measurement Of Poverty , 1990 .

[13]  Erik Fridell,et al.  The mechanism for NOx storage , 2000 .

[14]  Charles C. Ragin,et al.  Fuzzy-Set Social Science , 2001 .

[15]  A. Sen,et al.  Commodities and Capabilities , 1987 .

[16]  M. Sirgy,et al.  A Quality-of-Life Theory Derived from Maslow's Developmental Perspective , 1986 .

[17]  R. Ha,et al.  Cost–Benefit Analysis , 2010 .

[18]  P. Aghion,et al.  Handbook of Economic Growth , 2005 .

[19]  C. Ferrans Development of a quality of life index for patients with cancer. , 1990, Oncology nursing forum.

[20]  Within Europe EVIDENCE FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY HOUSEHOLD PANEL , 2004 .

[21]  Ching-Hsue Cheng,et al.  Fuzzy hierarchical TOPSIS for supplier selection , 2009, Appl. Soft Comput..

[22]  C. Ferrans Development of a Conceptual Model of Quality of Life , 1996, Scholarly Inquiry for Nursing Practice.

[23]  Ying-Ming Wang,et al.  Optimal aggregation of fuzzy preference relations with an application to broadband internet service selection , 2008, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[24]  M. Powers,et al.  Quality of life index: development and psychometric properties , 1985, ANS. Advances in nursing science.

[25]  S. Islam,et al.  Economic Growth and Social Welfare: Operationalising Normative Social Choice Theory , 2004 .