Walls of glass. Measuring deprivation in social participation

Nicolai Suppa ()

The Journal of Economic Inequality, 2021, vol. 19, issue 2, No 8, 385-411

Abstract: Abstract This paper proposes a measure for deprivation in social participation, an important but so far neglected dimension of human well-being. Operationalisation and empirical implementation of the measure are conceptually guided by the capability approach. Essentially, the paper argues that deprivation in social participation can be convincingly established by drawing on extensive non-participation in customary social activities. In doing so, the present paper synthesizes philosophical considerations, axiomatic research on poverty and deprivation, and previous empirical research on social exclusion and subjective well-being. An application using high-quality German survey data supports the measure’s validity. Specifically, the results suggest, as theoretically expected, that the proposed measure is systematically different from related concepts like material deprivation and income poverty. Moreover, regression techniques reveal deprivation in social participation to reduce life satisfaction substantially, quantitatively similar to unemployment. Finally, the validity of the measure and the question of preference vs. deprivation are discussed.

Keywords: Social participation; Capability approach; Deprivation; Life satisfaction; Multidimensional poverty; SOEP (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D63 I32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Walls of Glass: Measuring Deprivation in Social Participation (2018)
Working Paper: Walls of Glass: Measuring Deprivation in Social Participation (2018)
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DOI: 10.1007/s10888-020-09469-0

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