UMY expert: DTSEN decile mapping should not be treated as an absolute label

Yogyakarta (ANTARA) - Development Economics expert from Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) Susilo Nur Aji Cokro Darsono has assessed that welfare decile mapping in the National Socio-Economic Single Data (DTSEN) should not be regarded as an absolute label of a person’s economic condition.

Susilo said in Yogyakarta on Saturday that the grouping needs to be continuously evaluated and adaptive to changes in household conditions such as job loss, increased dependants, and unexpected expenditure.

“Welfare mapping needs to consider three main aspects, namely differences in purchasing power between regions through spatial deflators, the level of household economic vulnerability, and the use of measurement instruments appropriate to policy objectives,” said Susilo.

According to Susilo, this need relates to the characteristics of the Proxy Means Test (PMT) method used in welfare ranking. A number of indicators in the method were selected because they are relatively stable in describing the socio-economic condition of households.

However, a family’s economic condition can change within a relatively short period. Changes in income, job loss, an increase in the number of dependants, or the emergence of health costs can occur after data has been collected.

DTSEN is a single database that integrates various socio-economic data sources to support government policy planning and implementation.

Welfare ranking in DTSEN divides the public into 10 groups, from decile 1 as the group with the lowest level of welfare to decile 10 as the group with the highest level of welfare, where the data is dynamic and continuously updated.

Susilo explained that household welfare is not solely determined by income. Economic conditions are also influenced by asset ownership and savings, the number of family members who are dependants, type of employment, debt, and access to various basic services.

“Therefore, a single decile figure cannot necessarily describe the overall condition of a family. Moreover, a household’s economic situation can change after the data is used in the mapping process,” he said.

Nevertheless, Susilo said deciles still have an important function as one of the instruments for mapping public welfare. However, the figure must be positioned as part of broader socio-economic information.

“Deciles are a screening tool, not a verdict,” he said.