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Understandings and misunderstandings of multidimensional poverty measurement

Abstract  

Multidimensional measures provide an alternative lens through which poverty may be viewed and understood. In recent work we
have attempted to offer a practical approach to identifying the poor and measuring aggregate poverty (Alkire and Foster, J
Public Econ, 2011). As this is quite a departure from traditional unidimensional and multidimensional poverty measurement—particularly with
respect to the identification step—further elaboration may be warranted. In this paper we elucidate the strengths, limitations,
and misunderstandings of multidimensional poverty measurement in order to clarify the debate and catalyse further research.
We begin with general definitions of unidimensional and multidimensional methodologies for measuring poverty. We provide an
intuitive description of our measurement approach, including a ‘dual cutoff’ identification step that views poverty as the
state of being multiply deprived, and an aggregation step based on the traditional FGT measures. We briefly discuss five characteristics
of our methodology that are easily overlooked or mistaken and conclude with some brief remarks on the way forward.

  • Content Type Journal Article
  • Pages 289-314
  • DOI 10.1007/s10888-011-9181-4
  • Authors
    • Sabina Alkire, Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
    • James Foster, Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
    • Journal Journal of Economic Inequality
    • Online ISSN 1573-8701
    • Print ISSN 1569-1721
    • Journal Volume Volume 9
    • Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 2
Posted in: Journal Article Abstracts on 07/24/2011 | Link to this post on IFP |
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