Research by Ellis Finds Hidden Pockets of Poverty and is Featured in The Guardian
Posted: 12/14/2023 (CSDE in the News and CSDE Research)
CSDE Affiliate Dr. Mark Ellis (Geography) recently co-authored an article in The Geographical Journal, titled “An ethnic group specific deprivation index for measuring neighbourhood inequalities in England and Wales“. Dr. Ellis conducted this study alongside a research team at Queens University Belfast with a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council. The study focuses on the geography of social deprivation in England and Wales, highlighting pockets of deprivation by ethnic group across the two countries, using the 2021 Census. Unlike the US, the UK has no small area income data and so has no direct measure of poverty. The authors’ introduce the Ethnic Group Deprivation Index (EGDI) to identify areas of deprivation, using a collection of social indicators including health, education, and employment. Their research finds complex micro geographies of deprivation. While local towns may be perceived as prosperous, with little or no social deprivation overall, there may be small areas (zones of 1500 people) where one or more ethnic groups have very high levels of deprivation. These findings have been featured in two articles by The Guardian – the first article providing an overview of the index and the second article delving deeper into the experience of Oxford, England. The first article by The Guardian states a key implication of the research – “More than a million people in England are living in pockets of hidden hardship, meaning that they could be missing out on vital help because their poverty is masked by neighbours who are better off”. Dr. Ellis conveyed authors’ message in an email – Policy makers aiming to address social deprivation must look beyond place averages and consider how ethnic groups have heterogenous experiences of deprivation within small areas.