Page 56 - Contributed Paper Session (CPS) - Volume 1

CPS877 Paula J.G. et al.

The evolution of the OECD countries after the
2008 financial crisis simultaneous data analysis of
the “How’s Life” datasets between 2009 and 2015
Paulo Jorge Gomes, Joao Pedro Delgado
Nova IMS, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal

Abstract
The financial crisis of 2008 affected virtually every country in the World due to
the connectivity of the global markets. Despite the significant contrasts in the
starting points, there is the common perception that different economies
recovered at distinct paces at least in part due to the policies and methods
adopted by the authorities to address the financial crisis. In this context, the
OECD “How’s Life” datasets were analyzed with the objective of trying to
detect trajectories in countries that could partially be explained by the
macroeconomic measures adopted after the crisis. With the support of the
OECD secondary data for the period 2009-2015, this novel study involved not
only univariate, bivariate, and cluster evaluations but also a three-way data
analysis based on the STATIS method. Among the existing multivariate
methodologies, STATIS is the most comprehensive and flexible method to
assess the evolution of a large (and possibly varying) number of individuals
and variables over several years. With the identification of country trajectories
in association with the evolution of variables, the findings may be relevant for
business organizations with regard to defining strategic directions and making
operational decisions.

Keywords
OECD How’s Life/Better Life; PCA; Three-Way Data Analysis; STATIS; 2008
Financial Crisis

1. Introduction
Although the financial crisis of 2008 was not an entire surprise for people
from within the industry with a critical mindset, the reality is that the large
majority of the insiders and outsiders perceived the developments as a “Black
Swan”: something totally unpredictable and thus, unavoidable. Regardless of
the differences in perspectives, the 2008 crisis started in the USA but quickly
propagated and contaminated not only the European but also the Asian
markets due to the global connectivity and scale of the financial and business
operations.
The global financial crisis affected several countries in different ways and
to varying extents. Furthermore, the impacted countries were in different
positions in terms of macroeconomic aspects among other dimensions, which
resulted in a multitude of different starting points for the post-crisis recovery.

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