BPS: DTSEN Deciles Are Not a Single Measure of Family Economy

Badan Pusat Statistik said decile figures in the Data Tunggal Sosial dan Ekonomi Nasional (DTSEN) cannot be read as a single measure of a family’s economic condition. BPS head Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti explained that deciles only show a family’s relative position compared with others in the welfare ranking. Because of that, deciles are not an absolute measure of poverty and are not nominal figures for income or wealth. BPS builds the ranking using the Proxy Means Test method, which combines many indicators such as housing conditions, drinking water sources, cooking fuel, asset ownership, electricity consumption, family composition, education, employment, health, and disability. BPS also stressed that one indicator does not automatically change a decile position, and DTSEN data must keep being updated so it remains relevant for targeting government programs.