ABSTRACT
Towards the end of the 1960s the concept of deprivation entered the arena of academic and political discourse on the problems of economic and social inequality in Britain. One of the reasons for the popularity of the concept of deprivation has been its attempt to bring together the issues raised by these problem areas under the umbrella of a more general approach. Central and local government researchers face similar political and methodological difficulties for reasons which are explored later and consequently similar definitional approaches are likely to follow. Any attempt to come to grips with the notion of deprivation has to tackle the issues raised by three separate concepts: deprivation, multiple deprivation and urban deprivation. The mapping of the incidence of deprivation at the small-area level has of course raised questions about why this geographical concentration of the problem should occur. Within the terms of the definitional approach described above attempts to analyse deprivation display three important methodological deficiencies.
