B1568
Title: Modelling deprivation indices in Europe using mixture models
Authors: Ivana Mala - Prague University of Economics and Business (Czech Republic) [presenting]
Abstract: A Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe includes a large spectrum of information on the ageing process of the European population. People of age above 50 are eligible for the survey, and respondents remain in the study until the end of life. In 2013 wave two composite indices of deprivation (material and social) were introduced on the 0-1 scale. The probability distribution of indices in the population is highly country-specific. Mixture models are applied to describe the multimodal distribution and to find out homogenous subgroups of respondents. The Gaussian densities (3-5) are complemented with a positive probability of no material deprivation. The estimated component distributions are used to compare the situation in participating countries and specify countries with similar distributions. The mixture model enables us to compare level, variability and component frequencies and the number of components needed to describe the distributions. Moreover, the differences between distributions of both indices are shown. The problem of social deprivation of the elderly population, even in welfare states of Europe, is also discussed and quantified based on these indices.
