Acute Multidimensional Poverty: A New Index for Developing Countries

This paper presents a new Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) for 104 developing countries. It is the first time multidimensional poverty is estimated using micro datasets (household surveys) for such a large number of countries which cover about 78 percent of the world´s population. The MPI has the mathematical structure of one of the Alkire and Foster poverty multidimensional measures and it is composed of ten indicators corresponding to same three dimensions as the Human Development Index: Education, Health and Standard of Living. Our results indicate that 1,700 million people in the world live in acute poverty, a figure that is between the $1.25/day and$2/day poverty rates. Yet it is no $1.5/day measure. The MPI captures direct failures in functionings that Amartya Sen argues should form the focal space for describing and reducing poverty. It constitutes a tool with an extraordinary potential to target the poorest, track the Millennium Development Goals, and design policies that directly address the interlocking deprivations poor people experience. This paper presents the methodology and components in the MPI, describes main results, and shares basic robustness tests.Poverty Measurement, Multidimensional Poverty, Capability Approach, Multidimensional Welfare, Human Development, HDI, HPI

El nivel efectivo de educacion secundaria en Argentina y la brecha educacional entre géneros

En este trabajo se presenta la medida de “Educación Efectiva” propuesta por Basu y Foster (1998) aplicada para el nivel de educación secundaria de Argentina. El cálculo se realiza con datos de la Encuesta Permanente de Hogares (EPH) de Mayo de 2003. Se estima también la brecha entre géneros de las tasas de graduación de los niveles primario, secundario, terciario y universitario con datos de la EPH y del Censo Poblacional 2001. Se encuentra, en primer lugar, que Argentina tiene altos niveles de graduación en el nivel medio, los cuales aumentan al considerar la externalidad intra-hogar de la educación incorporada en la medida de Basu y Foster. Entonces, el ordenamiento de las ciudades cambia sustancialmente. En segundo lugar, se encuentra que 15 de las 23 provincias muestran una brecha favorable para las mujeres en las tasas de egreso de nivel primario y todas las provincias muestran este mismo resultado para el caso del nivel secundario. Sin embargo, en el caso del nivel universitario, la brecha es levemente favorable para los hombres.In this paper the “Effective Literacy” measure proposed by Basu and Foster (1998) is calculated for the secondary school level of education in Argentina. The estimation is done with data from Encuesta Permanente de Hogares (EPH) from May 2003. The gender gap is also calculated for the primary, secondary, tertiary (non-university) and university level of education with data from EPH and Censo Poblacional 2001 for each province. It is found, in the first place, that Argentina has high levels of completion of secondary school. These rates are obviously increased when the intrahouseholdexternality is considered as Basu and Foster’s measure does and the ranking among the cities changes substantially. In the second place, it is found that 15 out of the 23 provinces show a gender gap favorable to women for the primary level, and all provinces show this same result for the secondary level. However, the gender gap is favorable to men for the university level.Fil: Santos, Maria Emma. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Economía. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur; Argentin

Composite indices of development

This chapter reviews the literature on composite (and multidimensional) indices of development. Composite indices emerged as an alternative to using a portfolio of indicators, whose scattered information is sometimes difficult to grasp, or simply the GNP per capita, which often does not correlate well with development goals. As they emerged, they were also criticized. Points of debate relate to the selection of dimensions and indicators, their correlation (and the trade-off between redundancy and robustness), their type (input versus output and stock versus flow), and the normalization procedure, weighting, and aggregation of the components. However, as long as the purpose of the index and its indicators and weights are clearly specified and justified, the direction in which the index will move under specific transformations is axiomatically stated, robustness tests are performed, and the index is open to public scrutiny and revision, composite (and multidimensional) indices can prove invaluable in development studies

Measuring Multidimensional Poverty in Latin America: Previous Experience and the Way Forward

This paper states the need to design a multidimensional poverty index for the Latin America region (LA-MPI) that can monitor poverty trends in a cross-country comparable way, yet is also relevant to the particular regional context. We review the region’s rich experience with multidimensional poverty measurement, as well as Europe’s experiences with multidimensional measurement. We set a number of requirements for the LA-MPI to satisfy and specify the methodological criterions necessary to fulfill such requirements. Drawing from the review, we outline an LA-MPI composed of five dimensions: basic consumptions, education, health, housing and basic services, and work. We list the indicators within those dimensions that are desirable, as well as what indicators are feasible given existing data constraints

Desarrollo e instituciones precarias: la Argentina de los ‘90

En este trabajo se presentan sintéticamente los principales desarrollos teóricos de la Nueva Economía Institucional, con el propósito de analizar lo ocurrido en Argentina durante la década de los 90 como una situación de desequilibrio institucional, seguida de una demanda por un cambio institucional. La satisfacción de esta demanda se canalizó en parte por el surgimiento de instituciones informales de manera espontánea y en parte por el propio Estado que suplió las falencias con instituciones que, aunque son legales, no dejan de ser tan precarias como las informales. Este nuevo tipo de instituciones surgen, en principio, como consecuencia del subdesarrollo y que no parecen poder contribuir a revertirlo, si bien en una primera instancia aparentaron ser la fuente de un cambio institucional profundo. Casi una década más tarde estos pequeños cambios no modificaron la estructura institucional formal, desapareciendo la mayoría de ellos y volviéndose a instaurar las antiguas instituciones en la mayoría de los casos.Fil: London, Silvia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Economía. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Santos, Maria Emma. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Economía. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur; Argentin

Pobreza Multidimensional en Bahia Blanca: 2004-2017

En este trabajo se mide la pobreza multidimensional en una ciudad intermedia, Bahía Blanca, ubicada en el sur de la provincia de Buenos Aires, entre 2004 y 2017. Se aplica un Índice de Pobreza Multidimensional, el cual comprende las dimensiones de vivienda, servicios básicos, estándar de vida, educación, empleo y protección social, utilizando doce indicadores. Se encuentra que hubo una disminución inambigua y sustancial de la pobreza multidimensional entre 2004 y 2009 y también entre 2009 y 2017, aunque en menor medida. Las estimaciones 2014-2017 no permiten realizar afirmaciones certeras de reducción o incremento. Se observa que en 2017 la situación social local era aún delicada.In this paper we measure multidimensional poverty in an intermediate city, Bahia Blanca, located in the south of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, between 2004 and 2017. A Multidimensional Poverty Index is implemented, comprising the dimensions of housing, basic services, living standard, education, and employment and social protection, using twelve indicators. It is found that there is an unambiguous and substantial decrease of multidimensional poverty between 2004 and 2009, as well as between 2009 and 2017, although to a much lesser extent. Estimations for 2014-2017 do not allow asserting whether poverty decreased or increased. In 2017 the local social situation was still delicate.Fil: Santos, Maria Emma. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Economía. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Etcheverry, Jeronimo. Centro Regional de Estudios Economicos de Bahia Blanca; Argentin

Two sources of low-development traps from a human capital perspective

This paper analyzes two possible sources of low-development traps related to human capital accumulation. The first one comes from a mismatch between the skills workers have acquired through their formal education and the skills demanded by some non-innovative firms in the labor market. The second one comes from segmentation in the educational system, such that the children of better educated parents receive a higher quality education than the children of less educated parents. Two different models are presented in which each of these sources cause, correspondingly, dual economies and low-development traps.Fil: Santos, Maria Emma. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Economía. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur; ArgentinaFil: London, Silvia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Economía. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur; Argentin

Measuring Acute Poverty in the Developing World: Robustness and Scope of the Multidimensional Poverty Index

This paper presents the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), a measure of acute poverty, understood as a person’s inability to meet simultaneously minimum international standards in indicators related to the Millennium Development Goals and to core functionings. It constitutes the first implementation of the direct method to measure poverty for over 100 developing countries. After presenting the MPI, we analyse its scope and robustness, with a focus on the data challenges and methodological issues involved in constructing and estimating it. A range of robustness tests indicate that the MPI offers a reliable framework that can complement global income poverty estimates

Income and beyond: Multidimensional poverty in six Latin American countries

This paper presents empirical results of a wide range of multidimensional poverty measures for: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, Mexico and Uruguay, for the period 1992–2006. Six dimensions are analysed: income, child attendance at school, education of the household head, sanitation, water and shelter. Over the study period, El Salvador, Brazil, Mexico and Chile experienced significant reductions of multidimensional poverty. In contrast, in urban Uruguay there was a small reduction in multidimensional poverty, while in urban Argentina the estimates did not change significantly. El Salvador, Brazil and Mexico together with rural areas of Chile display significantly higher and more simultaneous deprivations than urban areas of Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. In all countries, access to proper sanitation and education of the household head are the highest contributors to overall multidimensional poverty.Multidimensional poverty measurement, counting approach, Latin America, Unsatisfied Basic Needs, rural and urban areas.