In recent years have seen an increase in the analysis of deprivation in Britain. In most studies the unit of analysis has been geographical, such as local-government wards or districts. This reflects, in part, a reliance on small-area statistics and local-base statistics from the censuses of population. Although useful in identifying specific problem areas, this type of approach may be subject to ecological fallacy. In other words, areas of high levels of deprivation may be home to high proportions of particular social or demographic groups, but it cannot be automatically assumed that these groups are themselves deprived. Although some studies have been based on purpose-designed individual-level survey data, these often lack sufficient sample sizes to analyse effectively small subgroups of the population or to allow geographical disaggregation. The release of the Samples of Anonymised Records from the 1991 Census allows individual-level data to be used to investigate the social, demographic, and geographical dimensions of deprivation. In this paper, a threshold of deprivation will be determined and the distribution of individual-level deprivation (deprived people) will be compared with an equivalent area-level index constructed from standard census output by the use of conventional techniques.

"Population estimates have important implications for resource allocation within government and commerce, and are often assumed to be without error. Currently, central government provides annual population estimates for all the local and health authority districts in Britain, but estimates are needed for smaller areas, typically for electoral wards and postal sectors. Small area estimates are provided by some local authorities and commercial organizations, using different methods; the accuracy of these estimates is modelled here within a multilevel framework. Certain characteristics of the small area and of the method of estimation are included as explanatory variables. Results show that the method of estimation used is of great importance."

The authors examine the use of census data to construct an urban deprivation index for the United Kingdom, with special attention given to the need for flexibility. "A single index is rejected in favour of a matrix of results which captures the complex geography of deprivation. The matrix of districts includes measures of the degree of deprivation, its spatial extent, its intensity, and the spatial distribution of deprivation at the enumeration district scale. The profiles of various districts are discussed to illustrate the use of the matrix."

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