Deprivation in the São Paulo Districts: Evidence from 2000

SummaryThis paper aims at capturing the level of deprivation of São Paulo’s population in 2000 as suffered by its inhabitants in a non-income framework. We construct a measure of functioning failure which indicates the degree to which functionings that are considered relevant in the city districts are not available to the individuals. Deprivation is measured by various indices proposed in the literature: (1) the Yitzhaki, (2) the Esteban and Ray, and (3) the Bossert, D’Ambrosio, and Peragine indices. Our results differ from what has been reported elsewhere. We observe a decrease in the deprivation position of very poor and homogeneous districts, and an increase in that of some middle-class and rich neighborhoods.