Digital Extended Energy Poverty (DEEP): Expanding the Boundaries of Poverty Measurement

This paper introduces a novel measure of Digitally Enhanced Energy Poverty (DEEP), which extends conventional definitions of energy poverty by incorporating household expenditures on digital services. The study recalculates conventional poverty ratios by using 2023 Household Budget Survey data for Türkiye. The results show that digital expenditures significantly raise poverty rates. While absolute digital poverty remains almost invisible, relative measures reveal a prevalence of 13.7 percent, and DEEP ranges from 12 to 23.6 percent depending on the threshold. Distributional analysis indicates a steep income gradient, while education strongly mitigates vulnerability. Time trends further reveal that energy poverty was the main driver of DEEP until 2019, whereas rising digital costs have increasingly contributed since the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings highlight that digital services now constitute a new generation of essential goods and that energy and digital deprivation must be addressed jointly. The paper concludes that DEEP provides a more accurate account of multidimensional poverty.