Assessing Multidimensional Poverty in the European Union: Insights From SDG 1 and the Benefit of the Doubt Approach

ABSTRACT The eradication of poverty remains one of the greatest economic challenges of the 21st century, particularly in light of transformations in labour markets, demographic shifts, and recent crises such as the COVID‐19 pandemic. Sustainable Development Goal 1 (SDG 1) acknowledges the need for broader approaches to measuring and addressing poverty, going beyond income‐based metrics to include multiple social and economic dimensions. This article analyses the evolution of multidimensional poverty across European Union countries between 2015 and 2023, using 11 indicators linked to SDG 1. The benefit of the doubt (BoD) method is employed to construct a composite index with endogenously determined weights, allowing for cross‐country comparisons that account for national specificities. The findings reveal distinct regional patterns: Northern and Western European countries, such as Finland and the Czech Republic, demonstrated stronger performance, while Southern and Eastern European countries continued to face persistent vulnerabilities.