We consider the relationships between multidimensional and monetary poverty indices in international and national poverty profiles, and evaluate the empirical consequences of identifying poor people relying on a combination of both approaches. Taking first a cross-country perspective, focusing on the developing world, we find that the incidence of poverty accord- ing to money metrics and the global MPI, a non-monetary measure of poverty, are correlated. This correlation breaks down in poorer countries. We use micro-data from six countries to study the joint densities of monetary and multidimensional welfare and the poverty identification mismatches for a comprehensive array of poverty line pairs. Mismatches are important, particularly, again, in the poorer countries. Although mismatches could be solved by combining both approaches in a dual cutoff poverty measure, the choice of the monetary poverty line remains a considerable issue as it changes the non-monetary composition of poverty.
Citation: Evans, M. Nogales, R. and Robson, M. (2020). ‘Monetary and multidimensional poverty: Correlations, mismatches, and joint distributions’, OPHI Working Paper 133, University of Oxford.
The global Multidimensional Poverty Index, published annually since 2010, captures acute multidimensional poverty in the developing regions of the world. In 2018, five of its ten indicators were revised with the purpose of aligning the index to the SDGs insofar as current data permit. This paper provides comprehensive analyses of the consequences of this revision from three perspectives. First, we offer new empirical insights available from the revised specification. Second, we analyse its robustness to changes in some key parameters, including the poverty cutoff and dimensional weights. Third, we compare the revised and the original specifications by implementing both on the same 105 national datasets. The country orderings in the revised specification are found to be robust to plausible parametric alternatives. Largely, these country orderings are at least as robust as the original one. Additional research on robustness standards is suggested.
Citation: Alkire, S., Kanagaratnam, U., Nogales, R. and Suppa, N. (2020). ‘Revising the global Multidimensional Poverty Index: Empirical insight and robustness’, OPHI Research in Progress 56a, Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, University of Oxford.
This report presents the findings of the national Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) for the State of Palestine. The Palestinian MPI was developed by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) with technical support from the National Team for Poverty Combating and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).
This report is the first that addresses multidimensional poverty in the State of Palestine, and responds to a decree issued by the Palestinian Council of Ministers to evaluate multidimensional poverty within the preparation framework for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Palestinian National Policy Agenda (NPA).
The Palestinian MPI consists of seven dimensions tailored to the particular context of Palestine. Six of these dimensions comprise the social well-being component and cover 21 indicators in education, health, employment, housing conditions and access to services, safety and use of assets, and personal freedom. A seventh dimension—monetary poverty—captures economic well-being using the national poverty line. The Palestinian MPI uses 2016/17 PECS survey data with substantial revisions on the household part of the instrument.
Key findings based on 2016/2017 data include:
Read more and download the report here.
This report presents the findings of the national Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) for Maldives. The Maldives MPI was developed by the National Bureau of Statistics in partnership with the UNICEF Regional Office South Asia (ROSA) and UNICEF Maldives with technical support from the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).
The results are based on data from the Demographic Health Survey (DHS) 2016/17. The Maldives MPI tracks eight indicators relating to three dimensions: health, education and information, and living standards.
The MPI provides a tool to coordinate the efforts of multisectoral agencies working towards reducing inequality and poverty in the Strategic Action Plan 2019–2023, which is now being implemented in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key findings based on data 2016/2017 include:
Download the report here.
This report presents the findings of the national MPI for Seychelles. The Seychelles MPI was developed by the Poverty Alleviation Department and the National Bureau of Statistics of Seychelles with technical support from the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI). As a high-income country, and a Small Island Developing State, the challenges faced by Seychelles in poverty reduction are different from other contexts. Seychelles’ MPI, which includes innovative indicators on obesity, substance abuse and crime, can help policymakers identify those being left behind and target their programmes more effectively.
Key findings include:
Download the report here.
OPHI Briefing 54 (PDF, 16 pages)
This briefing provides a rapid assessment of vulnerabilities to COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa according to three indicators from the 2019 global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). It analyses deprivations in nutrition, drinking water and cooking fuel across 467 subnational regions and 40 countries.
Download the briefing here.
Authors: Sabina Alkire, Jakob Dirksen, Ricardo Nogales and Christian Oldiges.
Year: 2020.
Citation: Alkire, S., Dirksen, J., Nogales, R. and Oldiges, C. (2020). ‘Multidimensional Poverty and Vulnerability to COVID-19: A Rapid Overview of Disaggregated and Interlinked Vulnerabilities in Sub-Saharan Africa’, OPHI Briefing 54, Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, University of Oxford.
This briefing provides an overview of multidimensional poverty in the state of Chhattisgarh in India. According to the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), Chhattisgarh had a dramatic reduction in multidimensional poverty. Ongoing policy investments will continue that remarkable trend.
Download the briefing here.
This short report is based on the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) developed by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) n collaboration with the Human Development Report Office (HDRO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The report contains well-designed infographics presenting the MPI constructed especially for Andhra Pradesh. The MPI is based on survey conducted in 2016–17 using an effective sample of 12,325 households and 43,664 household members across all districts in the State.
Download the report here.
Alkire and Foster’s 2011 paper “Counting and Multidimensional Poverty Measurement” is posted by the Journal of Public Economics as their most cited article. The paper proposes a new methodology for multidimensional poverty measurement, and uses examples from the US and Indonesia to illustrate.
To read the article, click here.