The aim of this policy paper is to identify and discuss the main methodology issues involved in the evaluation of different dimensions of poverty and living conditions in the context of the construction of an Intergenerational Justice Index (IJI) while endeavouring to answer the question “What future are we leaving to the next generations in terms of poverty level and living conditions?”.
The relationship between (a multidimensional definition of) poverty and Intergenerational Justice (IJ) is discussed in detail, widening the traditional view of short-term poverty and long-term IJ problem with an integrated approach. The latter acknowledges that higher levels of poverty are necessarily associated with a lower levels of IJ, compromising both equal opportunities for the next generations and the social capacity of achieving sustained development.
Hence, a synthetic index is constructed for the period 2016-2023 using 11 indicators collected in four subdimensions: income level, monetary poverty rate, material and social deprivation rate, and participation of young people in education. The index relies on the definition of a specific target-value linked to the best performances in the EU. The methodology used in its construction, including normalisation and aggregation of the different indicators, is discussed in detail.
The results obtained are relatively encouraging, with an increase of about 40% in the IJI of Poverty and Living Conditions for the period of analysis. This favourable evolution relies heavily on the decrease in poverty and material deprivation indicators for the younger age groups, and is also substantial relatively to the EU benchmarks used. The results for the income level are further away from target, although a positive trend is noticeable. Finally, the participation in education clearly outperforms the other dimensions, with the NEET rate hitting its target in 2022.
The clear advantages of using a synthetic index in the analysis of public policies are discussed, highlighting its capacity to identify the factors that make a stronger contribution to the reproduction of existing social disadvantages, as well as monitoring and regularly evaluating the impact of policies that promote sustained improvement of equal opportunities and IJ.