Comparative measures of multidimensional deprivation in the European Union

This paper proposes new fuzzy measures of monetary poverty and also non-monetary deprivation, providing an economic interpretation of the parameters involved. For non-monetary deprivation, the paper provides a step-by-step procedure: dimensions or groupings of initial items of deprivation are identified using explanatory and confirmatory factor analyses, and a weighting system is applied for the aggregation of individual items into the dimension they represent. The methodology is applied to European Union countries using European Union-Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) data for the 2011 survey wave.