What to measure: deprivation, social exclusion, quality of life or social capital?
The measurement of poverty and social exclusion, and the targeting of policy to combat these problems, has long relied upon indices of socio-economic deprivation. Numerous and familiar variations on the same theme have been hashed and rehashed in the search for the ideal index for any given task, whether it be a specific requirement such as predicting demand for GP services (Jarman, 1983), or a universal index of deprivation (e.g. DoE, 1995). The search for the optimum universal index continues, with improvements in information systems and the increasing availability of local information driving the development of more complex and – it is argued – more comprehensive indices. The DETR’s Index of Deprivation 2000 claims to be the best general index so far developed, though it is acknowledged that poor quality information in some domains (notably crime and the physical environment) continues to impede comprehensiveness (DETR 2000). While indices of socio-economic deprivation remain the do
