Multidimensional Poverty Measurement Research Articles

A New Multidimensional Measurement of Educational Poverty. An Application to PISA 2012

The consequences that educational underperforming has on both individuals and the society as a whole lead policy makers and planners to focus on how to measure properly the extent of educational poverty. The main aim of this paper is to propose a multidimensional adjusted poverty index (α-MAPI) by considering explicitly not only the individual deprivations, but also the non-deprivation attributes of the poor. It permits to set a precise valuation on school poverty. We apply α-MAPI to the measurement of educational poverty in the OECD countries by using data from PISA 2012 report.

A geographic identification of multidimensional poverty in rural China under the framework of sustainable livelihoods analysis

Developing methods of measuring multidimensional poverty and improving the accuracy of poverty identification have been hot topics in international poverty research for decades. They are also key issues for improving the quality and effectiveness of rural poverty reduction programs in China. So far, selection and integration of poverty indicators remains the main difficult for measurement of multidimensional poverty. Guided by the sustainable livelihoods framework developed in the UK by the Department for International Development (DFID), an index system and an integration method for geographical identification of multidimensional poverty were established, and they were further used to carry out a county-level identification of poverty in rural China. Additionally, comparisons were made of the identification results with counties having single-dimension income poverty in rural areas and poor counties designated by the Chinese central government. The results showed that a total of 655 counties, with 141 million rural residents, were identified as multidimensionally poor. They are concentrated and conjointly distributed geographically, and evil natural conditions are their common features. In comparison to the income poor and the designated poor counties, the multidimensionally poor counties were not only worse in single-dimensional and composite scores, but also having multiple disadvantages and deprivations. By identifying the disadvantage and deprived dimensions, the measurement of multidimensional poverty should be very helpful for each county to work out and implement antipoverty programs accordingly, and it would make contribution to improve the sustainability of poverty reduction. Hopefully, this research may also shed light on multidimensional poverty measurement for other developing countries.

Considering the Extremely Poor: Multidimensional Poverty Measurement for Germany

This paper applies the Alkire and Foster (J Public Econ 95:476–487, 2011) index of multidimensional poverty to German data. This is done with respect to the politically most important dimensions of poverty mentioned in the German Federal Government’s report on poverty and wealth. Additionally, a modification of the identification step of the Alkire–Foster index is proposed to guarantee that individuals, who are extremely poor in only few dimensions, are not omitted by the index.

Differences Between Monetary and Multidimensional Poverty in the Lao PDR: Implications for Targeting of Poverty Reduction Policies and Interventions

This study compares monetary and multidimensional poverty measures for the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Using household data of 2007/2008, we compare the empirical outcomes of the country’s current official monetary poverty measure with those of a multidimensional poverty measure. We analyze which population subgroups are identified as poor by both measures and thus belong to the category of the poorest of the poor; and we look at which subgroups are identified as poor by only one of the measures and belong either to the category of the income-poor (identified as poor only by the monetary measure) or to that of the overlooked poor (identified as poor only by the multidimensional poverty measure). Furthermore, we examined drivers of these differences using a multinomial regression model and found that monetary poverty does not capture the multiple deprivations of ethnic minorities, who are only identified as poor when using a multidimensional poverty measure. We conclude that complementing the monetary poverty measure with a multidimensional poverty index would enable more effective targeting of poverty reduction efforts.

Multidimensional poverty measure and analysis: a case study from Hechi City, China.

Aiming at the anti-poverty outline of China and the human–environment sustainable development, we propose a multidimensional poverty measure and analysis methodology for measuring the poverty-stricken counties and their contributing factors. We build a set of multidimensional poverty indicators with Chinese characteristics, integrating A–F double cutoffs, dimensional aggregation and decomposition approach, and GIS spatial analysis to evaluate the poor’s multidimensional poverty characteristics under different geographic and socioeconomic conditions. The case study from 11 counties of Hechi City shows that, firstly, each county existed at least four respects of poverty, and overall the poverty level showed the spatial pattern of surrounding higher versus middle lower. Secondly, three main poverty contributing factors were unsafe housing, family health and adults’ illiteracy, while the secondary factors include fuel type and children enrollment rate, etc., generally demonstrating strong autocorrelation; in terms of poverty degree, the western of the research area shows a significant aggregation effect, whereas the central and the eastern represent significant spatial heterogeneous distribution. Thirdly, under three kinds of socioeconomic classifications, the intra-classification diversities of H, A, and MPI are greater than their inter-classification ones, while each of the three indexes has a positive correlation with both the rocky desertification degree and topographic fragmentation degree, respectively. This study could help policymakers better understand the local poverty by identifying the poor, locating them and describing their characteristics, so as to take differentiated poverty alleviation measures according to specific conditions of each county.

Nature of Multidimensional Poverty Incidence in Rural Nepal: Empirical Evidences from Bhalam VDC, Kaski

<p>This paper attempts to exercise the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative’s methodology to measure the multidimensional poverty at the local (village) level. Various measures of Multidimensional poverty has been estimated and decomposed to the various sub groups of the sampled household of the then Bhalam VDC of the Kaski District, in West Nepal. Stratified random technique was applied to select the 150 sample households to conduct household survey to get required data for the measurement and analysis of poverty. The results of the analysis follows almost similar pattern of various measures of multidimensional poverty estimates of the Oxford latest study. It is also revealed from the study that multidimensional poverty incidence and intensity were highly associated with the household socioeconomic characteristics such as Caste and ethnicity, land holding, gender and educational level of the household head and the family size.</p><p>Economic Literature Vol.12 2014: 16-25</p>

EL MÉTODO DE BIENESTAR SOCIOECONÓMICO (mbs) COMO ALTERNATIVA PARA LA MEDICIÓN MULTIDIMENSIONAL DE LA POBREZA: UNA VISIÓN DESDE LOS SALARIOS

In the measurement of poverty, the role of wages in the formation of household income has not been taken into account explicitly. The minimum wage arises in capitalist economies as a guarantee of a minimum level of well-being. The minimum wage established in the Mexican Constitution is linked to the satisfaction of basic needs, could well serve as threshold for poverty measurement. This article uses as income threshold for multidimensional poverty measurement the equivalent of the minimum constitutional wage. A new method for measuring multidimensional poverty is developed here: The Socio-Economic Well-being Method (swm). Its procedures and results are contrasted with the lpmm and coneval's method. The swm identifies a very similar proportion of poor people as the lpmm. It highlights coneval's underestimation of poverty as well as the key role that the definition of thresholds and the procedures to combine dimensions play in measuring poverty.

Relación entre el ingreso y los derechos sociales: estimación de micro-regresiones para México, 2012

Multidimensional poverty measurement in Mexico require the simultaneous occurrence of two events: firstly, to have less income than an established minimum in the space of welfare, and secondly, to have at least one gap in the space of social entitlements. The Consejo Nacional de Evaluación de la Política de Desarrollo Social (Coneval) [National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy] has established, under its own theoretical position, that is not appropriate to include income and gaps in the calculation of depth measurements; as if it were spaces that operate independently. In this paper, micro-regressions are used to verify the empirical existence of significant association between both spaces, although this is presented at different levels. The results suggest, also, to omit the variable associated with health services in order to achieve a better vision of the relationship between the gaps in social entitlements and income.

Multidimensional poverty in Afghanistan: who are the poorest of the poor?

Taking a capability approach perspective, our paper aims at advancing our understanding of poverty in Afghanistan, and at identifying the most deprived, including persons with disabilities, in order to address the first Sustainable Development Goal to eradicate poverty in all its forms. We used data from a national survey carried out in Afghanistan in 2005. We calculated one index using two weights structures, the adjusted headcount ratio, part of the multidimensional poverty measures. Following a participatory process, we identified and validated 13 indicators clustered in seven dimensions of poverty, including three usually neglected dimensions. Findings suggest that exploring various domains of deprivation would better inform poverty eradication policies than an approach focused only on income. Our results also demonstrate that nearly all Afghan adults are deprived in at least one dimension and those residing in rural areas, from minority ethnic groups, women, elderly people and persons disabled at birth or of an unknown cause are the poorest of the poor. Efforts to improve well-being must acknowledge these inequalities so that public policies in Afghanistan aiming at alleviating poverty take these disparities into account, when facing a reduction in available resources.

Does measurement invariance hold for the official Mexican multidimensional poverty measure? A state-level analysis 2012

One of the main goals in poverty measurement is making comparisons of prevalence and severity across geographical units. This is attained by merely disaggregating the index in question. The underlying assumption is that comparisons across units are tenable, inasmuch as the same indicators are utilised for constructing the index. Nonetheless, in practice, this assumption is very rarely tested. From the statistical perspective, measurement invariance (MI) must hold for comparisons to be valid, and violations thereof indicate that a given poverty index measures different things across different countries, states, counties, etc. Consequently, differentials in severity and prevalence cannot be attributed exclusively to the underlying construct (i.e. poverty) but to factors not considered in the measure. This article tests whether MI holds for two indexes: the Mexican official multidimensional measure (MPM) and an adjusted multidimensional measure (MPM-A) that uses less severe thresholds. The analysis is conducted using a novel method called the ‘alignment method’. It uses these two measures and the method as an illustration of why it is vital to introduce MI tests into poverty measurement. The results suggest that partial strong MI holds for the official measure and MI is violated when the thresholds are adjusted. Partial strong MI guarantees making valid comparisons across the 32 states. Should the official measure requires to be updated with other thresholds, it would be necessary to adjust the threshold or drop the indicator for water deprivation.

Pathways into chronic multidimensional poverty amongst older people: a longitudinal study.

BackgroundThe use of multidimensional poverty measures is becoming more common for measuring the living standards of older people. However, the pathways into poverty are relatively unknown, nor is it known how this affects the length of time people are in poverty for.MethodsUsing Waves 1 to 12 of the nationally representative Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, longitudinal analysis was undertaken to identify the order that key forms of disadvantage develop – poor health, low income and insufficient education attainment – amongst Australians aged 65 years and over in multidimensional poverty, and the relationship this has with chronic poverty. Path analysis and linear regression models were used.ResultsFor all older people with at least a Year 10 level of education attainment earlier mental health was significantly related to later household income (p = 0.001) and wealth (p = 0.017). For all older people with at less than a Year 10 level of education attainment earlier household income was significantly related to later mental health (p = 0.021).When limited to those in multidimensional poverty who were in income poverty and also had poor health, older people generally fell into income poverty first and then developed poor health.The order in which income poverty and poor health were developed had a significant influence on the length of time older people with less than a Year 10 level of education attainment were in multidimensional poverty for. Those who developed poor health first then fell into income poverty spend significantly less time in multidimensional poverty (−4.90, p < .0001) than those who fell into income poverty then developed poor health.ConclusionKnowing the order that different forms of disadvantage develop, and the influence this has on poverty entrenchment, is of use to policy makers wishing to provide interventions to prevent older people being in long-term multidimensional poverty.

Multidimensional Child Deprivation and Poverty Measurement: Case Study of Bosnia and Herzegovina

This study applies UNICEF’s rights-based multiple overlapping deprivation analysis framework to a single country case study—Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Using data from the Extended Living Standards Measurement Survey 2011 for children aged 5–15, the paper analyses the incidence and intensity of multidimensional child deprivation and examines its relationship to household-based monetary poverty, drawing on differences between rural and urban areas. Seven dimensions of deprivation have been identified using the child rights framework: Nutrition, Clothing, Educational Resources, Leisure, Social Participation, Information and Housing. We find that the majority of school-age children in BiH are deprived in one or more dimensions and one in four are deprived in three or more dimensions out of seven. Children in consumption poor households are more likely to be deprived in every dimension analysed separately and in a greater number of dimensions at once. Nevertheless, the degree of overlap between poverty and multidimensional deprivation is moderate, suggesting that child deprivation cannot be eradicated solely by increasing households’ consumption capacity. Finally, the study finds no significant differences by type of area in multidimensional deprivation rates for consumption-poor children aged 5–15. In contrast, non-poor children in rural areas are substantially more likely to be deprived in three or more dimensions at once than their counterparts in urban areas. Overall, these results call for a multifaceted policy approach targeting both the demand for and supply of children’s goods and services.

Measures of Social Isolation

Social isolation is a deprivation of social connectedness. It is a crucial aspect that continues to be named by people as a core impediment for achieving well-being and as a relevant factor for understanding poverty. However it is not routinely included in surveys that provide data on multidimensional poverty measurement. Although the challenge of measuring social connectedness is daunting, this paper argues that existing research in several fields provides solid ground for the construction of basic internationally comparable indicators that measure specific aspects of social isolation. In particular, this paper synthesises the relevant literature on the measurement of social isolation and related phenomena, and on the basis of this synthetic review, proposes a module of indicators to measure social connectedness that could be feasibly incorporated into an internationally comparable multi-topic household survey.

Identifying the Multidimensional Poor in Developed Countries Using Relative Thresholds: An Application to Spanish Data

In order to contribute to providing a methodology to ensure objectivity and transparency in the measurement of multidimensional poverty, this paper proposes a new threshold for the identification of the multidimensional poor which is also applicable to each of the dimensions of poverty, suitable for identifying the severely poor in developed countries. This new methodology is applied to analyse the evolution of material deprivation in Spain during the period of economic crisis, comparing the results with those obtained using other traditional approaches.

Multidimensional Poverty Indices: A Critical Assessment

This paper reviews and assesses issues involved in the measurement of multidimensional poverty, in particular the soundness of the various “axioms” and properties often imposed on poverty indices. It argues that some of these properties (such as those relating poverty and inequality) may be sound in a unidimensional setting but not so in a multidimensional one. Second, it addresses critically some of the features of recently proposed multidimensional poverty indices, in particular the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) recently put forward by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The MPI suffers from several unattractive features that need to be better understood (given the prominence of the index). The MPI fails in particular to meet all of three properties that one would expect multidimensional poverty indices to obey: continuity, monotonicity, and sensitivity to multiple deprivation. Robustness techniques to address some of the shortcomings of the use of such indices are briefly advocated.

Educational Poverty as a Welfare Loss: Low Performance in the OECD According to PISA 2012

This paper analyses the incidence and intensity of low performance among 15-year old students in the OECD countries according to PISA 2012. Taking level 2 of proficiency as the baseline competence, we approach the measurement of low performance by applying a multidimensional poverty measure that permits interpreting educational poverty as a welfare loss. We use a conventional welfare evaluation function to derive an index that combines the incidence, intensity and inequality of educational poverty. The results show that OECD countries differ in educational poverty much more than in PISA average scores and also that they present different mixes of incidence and intensity.

Measuring Multidimensional Poverty in Three Southeast Asian Countries Using Ordinal Variables

The primary objective of this paper is to highlight the contribution of the recent methodological refinements of poverty measures based on counting approaches using ordinal variables to the understanding of the evolution of poverty in Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Using the general framework proposed by Silber and Yalonetzky (2013), this paper compares multidimensional poverty measures such as the Multidimensional Poverty Index used by the UNDP (an index based on the approach of Alkire and Foster (2011)) with others which are sensitive to the distribution of deprivation counts across individuals. To the latter family belong the poverty measures introduced by Chakravarty and D’Ambrosio (2006) and Rippin (2010) and those based on the extension of the approach of Aaberge and Peluso (2012), as suggested by Silber and Yalonetzky (2013). Poverty is estimated using Demographic and Health Surveys for three different years for Cambodia (2000, 2005 and 2010), for Indonesia (1997, 2003 and 2007), and for the Philippines (1997, 2003 and 2008) by considering the deprivations in education, health and standard of living. Our findings indicate that Cambodia shows the highest level of poverty, followed by Indonesia and the Philippines, irrespective of the poverty measures used. At the national level, all countries reduced their multidimensional poverty over time using poverty measures as the one based on the approach of Alkire and Foster (2011) and those that are sensitive to the concentration of deprivations across individuals. As in most of Asian developing countries, poverty is largely a rural phenomenon. However, when examining the evolution of poverty over time for each country, conclusions drawn from the use of various poverty measures may differ regarding trends in poverty over time by area of residence as well as by region of residence.

Measurement of Living Standards Deprivation in Punjab Using AF Method (Periodical Comparison Approach)

In spite of taking and implementing various special measures by the government of Punjab and the Pakistan to alleviate poverty in Punjab, poverty is still there and has become a constraint in the way of economic progress and prosperity of the people of the Punjab-Pakistan. Poverty is pronounced deprivation in well-being. The conventional view links well-being primarily to command over commodities, so the poor are those who do not have enough income or consumption to put them above some adequate minimum threshold. The broadest approach to well-being and hence poverty focuses on the capability of the individual to properly function in the society. The poor lack key capabilities, and may have inadequate income or education, and last but not the least living standards. How we measure poverty can importantly influence how we come to understand it, how we analyse it, and how we create policies to influence it. In recent years, the literature on multidimensional poverty measurement has blossomed in a number of different directions. The 1997 Human Development Report vividly introduced poverty as a multidimensional phenomenon, and the Millennium Declaration and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have highlighted multiple dimensions of poverty since 2000.

Disability and Poverty in Morocco and Tunisia: A Multidimensional Approach

Although a growing body of research is exploring the links between disability and poverty, the evidence that persons with disabilities are more likely to be poor than their non-disabled counterpart remains scarce. The causal relationship between disability and poverty has most often been considered in terms of disparities in income or living conditions. However, some research strongly suggests that disability is associated with deprivation in a number of other dimensions. To date, no study has examined these associations using large scale surveys with a wide range of wellbeing dimensions and indicators using a multidimensional approach. The present paper presents findings of three multidimensional poverty measures based on 17 indicators of deprivation collected through large-scale household surveys in Morocco and Tunisia. These indicators cover a wide range of dimensions of poverty such as health, education, employment, material well-being, social participation, psychological well-being and physical security. Results confirm that persons with disabilities are poorer than non-disabled people in both countries. The study shows that persons with disabilities, particularly girls and women, rural residents, and those with intellectual, mental or multiple disabilities are particularly deprived of basic capabilities and functionings and that stigma plays a role in this social injustice. Civil society organizations should take the lead to promote awareness of social and emotional well-being of persons with disabilities.

A Multidimensional Poverty Measure for the Hindu Kush–Himalayas, Applied to Selected Districts in Nepal

Approximately 211 million people live in the Hindu Kush–Himalaya region. Although poverty levels in this region are high, there is a lack of cohesive information on the socioeconomic status of its populations that would enable decision-makers to understand different manifestations of poverty and design effective poverty alleviation programs. Hence, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), in consultation with international and regional partners, has developed the Multidimensional Poverty Measure for the Hindu Kush–Himalayas (MPM-HKH). This measure aims to identify and describe poor and vulnerable households across the Hindu Kush–Himalaya region—which is predominantly rural and mountainous and covers several of the world’s least developed countries—in a consistent manner. This article documents how the MPM-HKH was developed and demonstrates the utility of this approach, using Nepal as an example, by analyzing household survey data from 23 districts. The analysis gives important clues about differences in the intensity and composition of multidimensional poverty across these locations, which highlights the need for location-specific poverty alleviation strategies. The findings should help decision-makers to identify areas of intervention and choose the best measures to reduce poverty.