Measuring economic lifespan inequality: a new indicator of poverty-free lifespan across Europe

While Poverty-Free Life Expectancy captures the average number of years individuals are expected to live above the poverty threshold, it fails to account for disparities in the distribution of these years across the population. Inspired by recent developments in the measurement of Healthy Lifespan Inequality, we propose a new indicator: Poverty-Free Lifespan Inequality. This paper introduces the formal definition of Poverty-Free Lifespan Inequality, elaborates its mathematical foundations, and discusses its policy relevance. Using Sullivan-type methods and age-specific poverty prevalence data, we derive the distribution of exit from poverty-free life and compute inequality using the Gini index. We demonstrate that Poverty-Free Lifespan Inequality provides critical insights into the heterogeneity of economic well-being over the life course.