Multidimensional poverty indices and first order dominance techniques : an empirical comparison of different approaches

In this paper we contrast different perspectives to the measurement of multidimensional poverty. Using data from 38 Demographic and Health Surveys around the developing world, we have compared the performance of two broad approaches: multidimensional poverty indices and first order dominance techniques (FOD). Our empirical findings suggest that the FOD approach might be a reasonable cost-effective alternative to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP)'s flagship poverty indicator: the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). To the extent that the FOD approach is able to uncover the socio-economic gradient that exists between countries, it can be proposed as a viable alternative to the MPI with the advantage of not having to rely on the somewhat arbitrary and normatively binding assumptions that underpin the construction of UNDP's index

Inactive Youth in Sub-Saharan Africa:Does Inequality of Opportunity Matter?

The present study seeks to find out how gender, age, area of living, parent background in terms of educational level and occupation determine the probability of youth to be out of the labour market in six Sub-Saharan Africa countries. We utilize data from the school-to-work transition surveys from 2014 and 2015 from the ILO. For each country, we first calculate a revised version of the Human Opportunity Index developed by the World Bank. Second, we compute the contribution of each factor to that index. The results show that dissimilarity has a marked influence in Madagascar and to some extent Malawi and Uganda, while the major challenges with getting the youth onto the labour market are still in Liberia even after taking dissimilarity of unchangeable background into account

The Utilization of Circumlocution in Some Selected Religious Texts

Circumlocution is a strategy used to describe or explain the meaning of the target expression, through description of  its characteristics such as shape, colour, size or function . In other words, using many words  to describe something for which a concise  expression exists (Smyth, 1920: 681). Circumlocution is often used by aphasics and people learning a new language , where in the absence of a word (such as grandfather) the subject can simply be described the father of one's father). It is also used frequently in Basic English, a constructed dialect of non-regional English (ibid.). Circumlocution is beating around the bush, circumambages, diffuseness, discursiveness, euphemism, gassiness, indirectness, periphrase, periphrasis, pleonasm, prolixity, roundabout, tautology, verbal evasion, verbiage, wordiness (Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, 2012 : 25). A lengthened, roundabout mode of speech is allowable for the sake of variety or emphasis, or when a direct assertion might be offensive. But when none of these ends is accomplished, the mode of speeches becomes feeble and ineffective. Broadly speaking , circumlocution receives less attention in studies. In addition, very little is known about the purposes of employing circumlocution in speech and writing. Accordingly, this study tries to answer the following questions: What is circumlocution?What are the types of circumlocution ?What functions is circumlocution used to achieve ?What are the types used in religious texts

Effects of food price shocks on child malnutrition: The Mozambican experience 2008/09

A propitiously timed household survey carried out in Mozambique over the period 2008-09 permits us to evaluate the short-to-medium run relationship between sudden shocks to food prices and child nutrition status. We link local price inflation with child malnutrition status. We find that the prevalence of underweight amongst children rises in response to a higher inflation rate for basic food products. Stunting and wasting malnutrition measures are mostly insensitive to the inflation rate. The very high food inflation during 2008/09 was responsible for an extra 39,000 moderately underweight and 24,000 severely underweight children

Ordinal Welfare Comparisons with Multiple Discrete Indicators: A First Order Dominance Approach and Application to Child Poverty

We develop an ordinal method for making welfare comparisons between populations with multidimensional discrete well-being indicators observed at the micro level. The approach assumes that, for each well-being indicator, the levels can be ranked from worse to better; however, no assumptions are made about relative importance of any dimension nor about complementarity/substitutability relationships between dimensions. The method is based on the concept of multidimensional first order dominance. We introduce a rapid and reliable algorithm for empirically determining whether one population dominates another on the basis of available binary indicators by drawing upon linear programming theory. These approaches are applied to household survey data from Vietnam and Mozambique with a focus on child poverty comparisons over time and between regions.

Effects of food price shocks on child malnutrition:The Mozambican experience 2008/2009

AbstractA propitiously timed household survey carried out in Mozambique over the period 2008/2009 permits us to study the relationship between shifts in food prices and child nutrition status in a low income setting. We focus on weight-for-height and weight-for-age in different survey quarters characterized by very different food price inflation rates. Using propensity score matching techniques, we find that these nutrition measures, which are sensitive in the short run, improve significantly in the fourth quarter of the survey, when the inflation rate for basic food products is low, compared to the first semester or three quarters, when food price inflation was generally high. The prevalence of underweight, in particular, falls by about 40 percent. We conclude that the best available evidence points to food penury, driven by the food and fuel price crisis combined with a short agricultural production year, as substantially increasing malnutrition amongst under-five children in Mozambique

Advancing small area estimation

The poverty mapping methodology for estimating welfare rankings from small areas has proven to be useful in guiding allocation of government funds, regional planning, and general policy formulation. Nevertheless, poverty mapping also suffers from a series of by now well recognized shortcomings. We apply an approach based on first order dominance (FOD) to small area estimation. Five advantages to the FOD approach are highlighted. First, it can serve as a complement to, substitute for, and/or extension of the poverty mapping methodology. Second, it directly uses census data with a minimum of assumptions imposed. Third, the methodology is straightforward to implement and the concepts are intuitive. Fourth, the FOD approach is multi-dimensional allowing for a broader conception of poverty. Finally, FOD indicators can be chosen that relate directly to public expenditure priorities We apply the approach to census data from Mozambique for 1997 and 2007 and compare results with the poverty mapping methodology. We conclude that the FOD approach is well suited to small area estimation