A longitudinal study of deprivation in European countries

Purpose – Poverty is one of the most significant economic and social problems that European countries have to face. In recent years, it has become widely accepted that poverty is a multidimensional concept and now many studies use indicators of deprivation to examine the phenomenon. The focus on financial resources alone does not capture people’s quality of life as being poor means a lack of access to resources enabling a minimum standard of living and participation in the society within which one belongs. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach – Using a longitudinal component (2006-2010) of EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions data on 26 European countries, the author apply a second-order confirmatory factor analysis to estimate deprivation. To describe the patterns of change over time and to evaluate the role of household characteristics in deprivation level, the author employ a set of multilevel growth curve models. Findings – Three findings clearly stand out from my analysis. First, there is great variability in deprivation between European countries. Second, European countries show various patterns of change in deprivation over time. Third, households with different characteristics have quite different deprivation levels; moreover, the impact of household characteristics on deprivation can vary over time and between countries. Originality/value – This paper sheds light on the importance of analysing deprivation from a longitudinal perspective and that financial resources alone does not capture people’s quality of life.