The Concept of Multidimensional Poverty: Accounting for Dimensional Poverty

Increasing efforts have recently been directed towards the question of how to incorporate the idea of a multidimensional poverty concept into traditional poverty measurement. In response, several suggestions have been made to derive different classes of multidimensional poverty measures. In this paper we focus on five axiomatically derived classes of multidimensional poverty measures. Each of these classes follow the unidimensional approach to progressively weight the respective distances to the threshold levels in order to account for poverty intensity. In this paper we claim that this approach, though reasonable in a unidimensional setting, does not suffice in a multidimensional setting. An additional aspect of poverty intensity should be considered which we denote as dimensional poverty: the number of dimensions in which individuals are deprived. There exists no luminous explanation why a weighting scheme should account for one aspect of poverty intensity while at the same time ignoring the other one. In this paper we introduce a multiple cutoff method to identify the poor which allows us to extent the five classes of poverty measures to include an additional weighting scheme in order to account for dimensional poverty. We find that the additional weight has no effect on the axiomatic basis of the classes of poverty measures other than a partial violation of the well-known subgroup decomposability axiom.Multidimensional Poverty, Multidimensional Poverty measures, Axiomatic Approach, Poverty Intensity

Multidimensional Poverty and its Discontents

More data on non-income dimensions of poverty are available than at any previous time in history. Alongside this, multidimensional measurement methodologies have advanced considerably in the past fifteen years. These advances together have created new possibilities to measure multidimensional poverty at the local, national and international level. Yet the fact that overall measures can be constructed does not mean that they will necessarily add value. This paper focuses on the question of when, how and why certain multidimensional poverty measures add value, sketches the limits of the contribution, and introduces a set of standing questions. The key value-added of a rigorously implemented multidimensional poverty index is that it conveys additional information not captured in single-dimensional measures (or in a dashboard) on the joint distribution of disadvantage and the composition of poverty. It also provides a consistent account of the overall change in multidimensional poverty across time and space. The paper discusses the joint distribution approach to multidimensional poverty measurement and presents one class of poverty measures within this approach. It then introduces one recently implemented measure within this family: the 104-country Multidimensional Poverty Index 2010 and uses concrete examples to explain its construction further. For example, without weights one can only identify the multidimensionally poor by the union or the intersection approaches; by these approaches the 2010 MPI would have identified an average of 58% or 0% of people across the 104 countries as poor. It also shows how to ‘unfold’ the MPI by sub-group or dimension, and also by intensity – because similar ‘intensities’ of poverty can conceal different distributions of intensity among the poor. Pointing out the added value of multidimensional poverty indexes is not to suggest that single-dimensional measures be abandoned but rather supplemented. Investing further in multidimensional measures has the potential to generate significant advances in understanding and useful policy tools.

A comparison of multidimensional deprivation characteristics between natives and immigrants in Luxembourg

This paper applies a multidimensional approach to poverty measurement based on fuzzy set theory, and its decomposition properties, in order to measure the deprivation level in Luxembourg and to identify the different characteristics of poverty between natives and immigrants (knowing that almost 40% of the population in Luxembourg are immigrants). The database used in this study is the 2006 wave of the Panel Socio-Economique Liewen zu Lëtzebuerg (PSELL-3) survey.Decomposition ; Immigrants ; Luxembourg ; Multidimensional Poverty ; Fuzzy Set Theory

Poverty Rankings of Opportunity Profiles

We address the problem of ranking distributions of opportunity sets in terms of poverty. In order to accomplish this task, we identify a suitable notion of `multidimensional poverty line', extend the most widely used income poverty criteria to opportunity profiles, and provide characterizations of a few poverty rankings that rely on such criteria.Poverty, opportunity sets, head-count, poverty-gap.

Poverty rankings of opportunity profiles

We address the problem of ranking distributions of opportunity sets in terms of poverty. In order to accomplish this task, we identify a suitable notion of ‘multidimensional poverty line’ and we characterize axiomatically several poverty rankings of opportunity profiles. Among them, the Head-Count and the Opportunity-Gap poverty rankings, which are the natural counterparts of the most widely used income poverty indices.Poverty, opportunity sets, head-count, poverty-gap.

Estimating multidimensional poverty and identifying the poor in Pakistan

This paper argues for the multidimensional measurement of poverty in Pakistan particularly in the context of Millennium Development Goals. It critically examines the Poverty Scorecard, which was recently introduced by the Government of Pakistan for the identification of poor households under the Benazir Income Support Programme. By employing the Alkire and Foster measure to analyze household data from two provinces, Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwah (the re-named North-West Frontier Province) and Punjab, it provides an alternative method to estimate multidimensional poverty and identify poor households. The paper also investigates the relationship between household consumption and multidimensional poverty. It contrasts the results obtained by using a multidimensional measurement of poverty with those of the official poverty line. The limitations of the official poverty line are identified and the role of household consumption in explaining deprivations is discussed

The Impact of Rural Saving and Credit Cooperative on Multidimensional Poverty Status: Evidence from Rular Households in Awabel District, Amhara Region, Ethiopia

Multidimensional poverty is the problem of every country in the world; hence, it needs the attention of policy makers and various development actors like cooperatives. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of saving and credit cooperative financial service on multidimensional poverty status of rural household in Awabel district. The specific objectives of the study is to examine the impact of saving and credit cooperative financial service on multidimensional poverty status of rural households, to identify determinants of multidimensional poverty status of rural households, to identify the dimension of household poverty affected by saving and credit cooperatives financial services. The study adopts a cross sectional, and quantitative research design. The target population was 4,675 actively registered RuSACCO members’ households. The sample size was a total of 380 i.e190 members as a treated group and 190 nonmembers as counterfactual obtained through multi-stage sampling techniques .The data is primary data collected through household survey.For data analysis firstly, binary logit models is used to identify the determinants of multidimensional poverty status of rural households; and the finding revealed multidimensional poverty status of rural household has negative relationship between RuSACCO membership status (-4.2%), size of cultivated landholdings (-5%), access for agricultural extension service (-4.01%), and access for road (-1.7%) and are all statistically significant at 1% level. Moreover, there was a negative relationship between experience of household head on agricultural activity (-0.15%) and statistically significant at 5% level, the risen in educational status of household head from illiterate to literate, primary to secondary and from secondary to higher education goes dawn multidimensional poverty status by-1.8%, -3% and -4.3% and all are statistically significance at 1% level It is also found that, there were positive relationship between, multidimensional poverty status of rural households and dependency ratio (0.11%) at 5% level of significance) in Awabel district. Secondly ,propensity score match model is applied to examine the impact of RuSACCO financial service on multidimensional poverty status of rural households, and the finding revealed that, financial service of RuSACCO had reduce the multidimensional poverty index of rural household by 0.082898018 on average for members .The findings also showed that the RuSACCOs financial service has reduced health dimension of poverty by 0.036242775, the educational dimension of poverty by 0.018915905standard of living dimension of poverty by 0.0152, on average for RuSACCO members compare to that of non members. It is recommended the government should give special attention for organization and promotion of cooperative. Cooperative extension workers should advice members of RuSACCO to spend their financial service on health, education and standard of livings respectively. Increase productivity per size of cultivated landholding, work hard to bring literate farmers, work against reducing young age dependency, rising road accessibility, increase the accessibility of agricultural extension workers, and experience sharing among farmers to reduce the multidimensional status of rural household’s members in Awabe district. Keywords: RuSACCOs financial service, Multidimensional poverty, Awabel district in Amahara region, propensity score matching model. DOI: 10.7176/DCS/9-9-02 Publication date:September 30th 2019

Multidimensional poverty in the Baltic States in the EU context: theoretical and practical aspects

There are several approaches to assessing poverty, namely, the absolute, relative, and subjective ones. They are widely used in studying income dynamics and differentiation at a national level. Yet a new research approach to the study and assessment of ‘multidimensional’ poverty is gaining popularity in developed states. Central to it is the notion of ‘risk of poverty and/or social exclusion’ (AROPE). This approach measures both income level and such non-monetary component as access to social services. Despite the versatility and severity of multidimensional poverty in some European countries, this phenomenon has not been sufficiently explored in socio-economic studies carried out in the Baltic countries of the EU — Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. This article aims to identify the characteristics of multidimensional poverty in the Baltic countries and the EU. Its objective is to examine the spread of multidimensional poverty in the Baltic countries and compare it to the situation on a European scale. The work uses Eurostat data. Various indicators suggest that the risk of multidimensional poverty in the Baltic States is above the EU average