EU MECI: A Network-Structured Indicator for a Union of Equality.

Area of Science:

• Socioeconomic indicators
• European Union studies
• Network analysis

Background:

• Assessing progress toward a fairer and more equal Europe is a significant challenge.
• Existing frameworks may not fully capture the complexity of multidimensional inequality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel index, the Multidimensional Equality Complexity Index (EU MECI).
• To measure the capacity of EU Member States in "building a Union of equality".

Main Methods:

• Utilizing data from the EU Multidimensional Inequality Monitoring Framework (EU MIMF).
• Structuring data as a bipartite network of countries and indicators.
• Applying economic complexity methodology and network centrality metrics.

Main Results:

• The EU MECI provides aggregate scores reflecting Member States' performance in achieving equality.
• The methodology allows for a nuanced understanding of inequality across different dimensions.

Conclusions:

• The EU MECI offers a robust tool for monitoring and comparing equality efforts across EU Member States.
• This approach enhances the understanding of complex equality challenges within the European Union.