This paper proposes a measure for deprivation in social participation, an important but so far neglected dimension of human well-being. Operationalisation and empirical implementation of the measure are conceptually guided by the capability approach. Essentially, the paper argues that deprivation in social participation can be convincingly established by drawing on extensive non-participation in customary social activities. In doing so, the present paper synthesizes philosophical considerations, axiomatic research on poverty and deprivation, and previous empirical research on social exclusion and subjective well-being. An application using high-quality German survey data supports the measure’s validity. Specifically, the results suggest, as theoretically expected, that the proposed measure is systematically different from related concepts like material deprivation and income poverty. Moreover, regression techniques reveal deprivation in social participation to reduce life satisfaction substantially, quantitatively similar to unemployment. Finally, the validity of the measure and the question of preference vs. deprivation are discussed.

本文提出了一种剥夺社会参与的措施，这是人类福祉的一个重要但迄今为止却被忽略的方面。能力方法在概念上指导该措施的操作性和经验性实施。本质上，该论文认为，可以通过广泛地不参与习惯性社会活动来令人信服地确立社会参与的剥夺。在此过程中，本文综合了哲学上的考虑，对贫困和剥夺的公理研究以及对社会排斥和主观幸福感的先前实证研究。使用高质量德国调查数据的应用程序支持该度量的有效性。具体而言，结果表明，如理论上预期的那样，所建议的措施在系统上不同于诸如物质匮乏和收入贫困之类的相关概念。此外，回归技术揭示了社会参与的匮乏，从实质上降低了生活满意度，在数量上类似于失业。最后，讨论了该措施的有效性以及偏好与剥夺之间的关系。