A Methodological Approximation of the Measurement of Instrumental Social Exclusion from the Capability Approach: The Case of Vulnerable Areas in the City of Murcia, Spain

Abstract

The indirect effects of social exclusion in different fields of the lives of individuals have been scarcely studied. The literature that addresses social exclusion from the capability approach is sparse, and a methodology for measuring the instrumental effects of social exclusion on capability deprivation has not yet been implemented. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to propose a methodological framework to quantify these effects, based on two techniques: Structural equation modelling and principal component analysis. Likewise, this study presents a practical application in the vulnerable areas of the city of Murcia, Spain. In order to obtain the data, fieldwork was carried out using 464 questionnaires. The theorised model was statistically contrasted, confirming that it is not false. The study revealed that instrumental social exclusion had a moderate impact on the deprivations experienced by the study population.

Keywords

• social exclusion
• deprivation
• capability approach
• instrumental social exclusion
• structural equation modelling
• Murcia