The multidimensional conception of social exclusion and the aggregation dilemma: a solution proposal based on multiple correspondence analysis

The main objective of the article is twofold. On the one hand, it aims to offer a critical analysis of the different operationalizations of the concept of social exclusion at the international level, including reflection on widely used methods such as the at risk of poverty or social exclusion rate. On the other hand, it offers an empirically tested proposal of indicator aggregation for the measurement of social exclusion. The debate regarding the measurement of social exclusion has been widely addressed, but there are hardly any proposals that test different systems of indicator aggregation. The multiple correspondence analysis allows the implementation of a new approach for measuring the weights of the indicators, based on the distance to the integration point, which is understood as the absence of problems. The proposed new system shows an important potential to be extrapolated to the comparative measurement of social exclusion, also allowing the comparison of different social groups. The empirical reference used for the analysis is the Survey on Social Needs and Social Integration of the FOESSA Foundation for Spain 2018.