Weighting deprivations using subjective well-being: An application to the Multidimensional Child Poverty Index in Vietnam

Although multidimensional approach to study child poverty has received growing attention, weights of different dimensions in constructing single aggregation indices have not been properly investigated. Using Young Livesdata, this study attempts to fill this gap by examining a weight estimation method which takes into account the children's perspectives. This approach consists of computing analytical weights from estimated parameters of asubjective well-being regression model, where children's subjective well-being is explained by their achievement in dimensions included in multidimensional poverty indices. By doing so, weights reflect valuejudgments of children on what is a good life and are not based on a normative approach. Estimation resultsindicate that revealed preferences of children change overtime and across sub-groups of children. More importantly, this paper demonstrates that children do not give the same value to all dimensions, contrary to whatthe most common approach to calculate weights is supposing. Children then attach more importance to deprivations such as shelter, water and sanitation deprivations, which impact immediately their well-being thanto deprivations which may affect negatively their well-being in the long-term, with the exception of education for some groups of children.