Revising the EU material deprivation variables : 2017 edition

In March 2017, the European Union (EU) adopted a new indicator of 'material and social deprivation'. This measure was developed by Guio et al (2012) and covers the entire population of the 28 EU Member States. It includes 13 deprivation items and replaces the 9-item 'standard' material deprivation index adopted in 2009, by the then 27 EU countries and the European Commission, to monitor progress in the fight against poverty and social exclusion at national and EU level. Drawing on the methodology developed in the context of the 1999 'Poverty and Social Exclusion in the UK Survey', Guio, Gordon and Marlier (2012) proposed an analytical framework for producing a suitable, valid, reliable and additive deprivation measure for the EU. Their recommendations were based on analyses of the 2009 EU-SILC material deprivation module. This report extends these analyses using the 2014 EU-SILC data and demonstrates that the composition of the new material and social deprivation indicator remains optimal over a five year period of considerable socio-economic change.