Multidimensional Poverty Index – Summer 2016: Brief Methodological Note and Results

The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) 2016 updates use the same parameters (dimensions, indicators, cutoffs and weights) and the same functional form (Alkire and Foster Adjusted Headcount Ratio M0) as in previous years. This brief methodological note presents the 2016 MPI updates, and releases the tables with the full results: national MPI, destitution and vulnerability results, rural, urban, subnational region, changes over time, and complete estimations, as well as complementary data, dimensional breakdowns, and confidence intervals. Destitution data are now available for 100 countries. It first explains the main updates in the 2016 MPI, following the guidelines for updates presented in the 2014 Methodological Note (Alkire, Conconi and Seth 2014b). It uses the MPI methodology that has been presented in detail in previous methodological notes (Alkire and Santos 2010; Alkire, Roche, Santos and Seth 2011; Alkire, Conconi and Roche 2013; Alkire, Conconi and Seth 2014b). Then it briefly describes the methodological assumptions considered for the estimation of each dataset. The results of these estimations are presented in the form of 7 main tables, 102 country briefings and the interactive databank, all available on OPHI’s website (www.ophi.org.uk). 

Citation: Alkire, S., Jindra, C., Robles, G. and Vaz, A. (2016). 'Multidimensional Poverty Index - 2016: Brief methodological note and results', OPHI MPI Methodological Note No. 42 (OPHI Briefing 42), Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), University of Oxford.

This paper is also published as OPHI Briefing 42.