THE QUANTITATIVE ESTIMATION OF ETHICS: THE REGIONAL AND NATIONAL INDEX OF ETHICS [THE ETHICS PERCEPTION INDEX (ETPI)]

Abstract

Ethics do not appear from the vacuum. Researchers estimate ethics intuitively. At the same time, there is no quantitative approach for measuring the overall background of ethics in the community. This research aims to present a quantitative process for measuring the general level of ethics in societies. This research aims at presenting a quantitative index of ethics. Researchers can quickly reproduce the results of this index, and it grants the understandability of its main components and the potential for applications. The suggested global index of ethics (ETPI - Ethics Perception Index) creates the basis for further quantitative analysis of the levels of ethics in each region of different countries by RETPI (Regional ETPI). This paper suggests it is crucial to apply a quantitative measure of ethics that is valid for countries and regions. It is the first global and regional index of ethics, upon the best we know. The basis for the estimation of the ethics index is the evaluation of the components related to corruption, economic freedoms, human development, education, human rights, and environmental issues (the depletion of natural resources and other parameters). In addition, this research represents the method for an ordinal estimation of the level of ethics within different subregions. Such evaluation allows comparing different countries and regions in terms of the development of ethics. It is the first global and regional index of ethics, upon the best we know.