Social and Material Deprivation in French and Italian Macro Regions: A Proposal of New Indicators from Eu-Silc Data

Eurostat databases (EU-SILC survey) provide forty indicators relevant for material and social deprivation and indirectly affecting standard of living and life expectancy. Our paper uses this set of comparable data to highlight the difference between Italy, France and their macro-regions. The two countries are comparable, according to their social, institutional and economic structure, as several authors maintain and the Governor of the Bank of Italy remarked in May 2011. The research has been carried out following the factorial analysis methodology. We have chosen the variables to create two indexes referring to material and social deprivation, respectively. They are positively correlated with life expectancy (the material index correlates more highly), and their sum gives the social and material condition index. The index derives from just six data, which have been selected through the cited methodology; they find their theoretical basis on the concepts of capabilities, empowerment and entitlement proposed by Sen (Sen 1987). The two indicators of social and material deprivation show that the distinction between “social” and “material” can be tested and holds well. Social and material deprivation is considered separately, to grasp the territorial specificity of the standard of living, and then they are put together, to come to a synthesis and a comparison between different French and Italian macro-regions. In the conclusions, some hints about policies to implement are provided. Key Words: Material Deprivation, Social Deprivation Composite Index, Factorial Analysis, European Union.