Deprivations rarely come alone. Multidimensional poverty dynamics in Europe

Abstract

This paper proposes a framework to analyse micro-level dynamics inherent to multidimensional poverty measures. Specifically, I use differences in deprivation transition probabilities between multidimensionally poor and non-poor people, to analyse how deprivations couple over time. Advantages of this approach include that it (i) summarises relevant mechanisms, (ii) requires only short-run panel data and (iii) is suitable for monitoring purposes. Using the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) for 20+ countries over 2016–2020, I find that deprivations tend to couple over time. Implications include that coordinated policy programmes seem critical to overcome entrenched and prevent future deprivations.