Incorporating Public Insecurity Indicators: A New Approach to Measuring Social Welfare in Mexico

Type Journal Article - Social Indicators Research
Title Incorporating Public Insecurity Indicators: A New Approach to Measuring Social Welfare in Mexico
Author(s)
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2017
Page numbers 1-23
URL https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11205-016-1544-6
Abstract
This study presents evidence on the utility of including public insecurity indicators when assessing Social Welfare in Mexico. It estimates two multidimensional indices of social welfare using the DP2 method. The two measures (DP2a index and DP2b index) contain the following categories: (1) material welfare, (2) economic well-being, (3) subjective well-being, and (4) social capital. For the second, we included an additional category, (5) public insecurity, and examined its effect on social welfare. The results show that inclusion of indicators of insecurity, crime victimization, and homicides had a negative effect on social welfare within states. Specifically, trust in people, network membership, satisfaction with life, and happiness where reduced. Our results suggest that public insecurity should be a key consideration in the understanding of social welfare in Mexico.

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