The indicators of intertemporal material deprivation: a proposal and an application to EU countries

This paper analyses the effects of the inclusion of past experiences in measuring current material deprivation. The method followed generalises the recent proposal of Bossert, Chakravarty, Ceriani and D’Ambrosio (2013) by adapting the class of indices on the measurement of poverty over time of Dutta, Roope and Zank (2012). An application to the analysis of material deprivation within EU countries is then provided. Following the path of material deprivation experienced by each individual over time yields a picture which differs from that in the annual results. Since the measurement of material deprivation is used by the EU member states and the European Commission to monitor national and EU progress in the fight against poverty and social exclusion, the results suggest that time cannot be neglected. Countries should not only be compared based on their year-by-year results, but additional information is gained by following individuals over time and producing an aggregate measure once time is taken into account.