Using the EESI database to measure material well-being at local level

Over the last few years, the debate on measuring progress has become a relevant topic for the EU political agenda (Commission of the European communities, 2009; Stiglitz Commission, 2009). In order to address such issue, official statistical offices have been developing new statistical systems aimed at better measuring collective well-being (Eurostat, 2011). It is uncontroversial that well-being depends on several factors like being in good health, living in a safe environment or accessing good quality public services. It is also agreed that household disposable income (especially if adjusted for transfers in kind) represents the main determinant of households material well-being (Istat , 2013). It is worth noting that well-being and territory are strictly connected dimensions. The determinants of well-being may deeply change across territories.Unfortunately official statistics do not provide reliable direct estimates at a detailed geographical area.This paper addresses the use of data which are collected for calculating the Italian households Equivalent Economic Situation Indicator (EESI). The objective is to understand whether this data can be used to estimate household disposable income at the finer geographical detail.