some of these shortcomings are addressed by the oecd programme for the international assessment of adult competencies piaac which is discussed at the end of this chapter it is important to put in place harmonised instruments that measure other types of skills which are critical for innovation and economic growth but also for living a good life in general eg social and emotional skills almlund et al for the moment these exist at national level only they inform about the competencies that help individuals undertake a broad range of the activities needed to live in modern societies these include reading writing and numeracy as well as the skills needed to use digital technology and access and interpret information in a knowledgebased society