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Core readings: 

• Alkire, S., Foster, J. E., Seth, S., Santos, M. E., Roche, J. M., & Ballon, P. (2015). Multidimensional Poverty Measurement and Analysis, Oxford: Oxford University Press, (Chapter 2). 
• Foster, J. E., S. Seth, M. Lokshin, & Z. Sajaia (2013), A Unified Approach to Measuring Poverty and Inequality: Theory and Practice, The World Bank 

Guiding Questions: 

1. What are the two main steps of unidimensional poverty measurement? 
2. What is the FGT family of indices? 
3. What are the properties that the FGT measures satisfy? 

Core readings: 

• Alkire, S., Foster, J. E., Seth, S., Santos, M. E., Roche, J. M., & Ballon, P. (2015). Multidimensional Poverty Measurement and Analysis, Oxford: Oxford University Press, (Chapter 1 and Chapter 2). 
• UNDP & OPHI. (2019). How to Build a National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI): Using the MPI to inform the SDGs. UNDP, New York (Chapter1). 

Guiding Questions: 

1. What is a multidimensional poverty measure? 
2. What are the motivations for focusing on multidimensional poverty measurement and analysis? 
3. What are the arguments for a multidimensional poverty measure?  
4. What does empirical evidence tell us about multidimensional poverty measures? 

Core reading:

• Alkire, S., Foster, J. E., Seth, S., Santos, M. E., Roche, J. M., & Ballon, P. (2015). Multidimensional Poverty Measurement and Analysis, Oxford: Oxford University Press (Chapter 3, Chapter 4 and Chapter 5).
• UNDP & OPHI. (2019). How to Build a National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI): Using the MPI to inform the SDGs. UNDP, New York (Chapter4)

Guiding Questions:

1. What are the range of methods to assess and evaluate multidimensional poverty and the scope as well as the limitations of each? 
2. How can you explain a counting approach?
3. What are the benefits of using counting approaches to measure poverty?

Core reading: 

• Alkire, S., Foster, J. E., Seth, S., Santos, M. E., Roche, J. M., & Ballon, P. (2015). Multidimensional Poverty Measurement and Analysis, Oxford: Oxford University Press (Chapter 6). 

Guiding Questions: 

1. What is the capability approach (CA)? 
2. What does the CA propose and claim? 
3. What are the implications? How does the CA change our view? 
4. What are the practical implication for normative choices of the capability? 
5. How might multidimensional poverty measure reflect capability poverty? 

Guiding questions: 

1. How does the Alkire-Foster method work? 
2. What makes the Alkire-Foster method particularly useful? 

Core readings: 

• UNDP & OPHI. (2019). How to Build a National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI): Using the MPI to inform the SDGs. UNDP, New York (Chapter 5). 
• Alkire, S., Foster, J. E., Seth, S., Santos, M. E., Roche, J. M., & Ballon, P. (2015). Multidimensional Poverty Measurement and Analysis, Oxford University Press (Chapter 6) 

Guiding Questions: 

1. What can and should be considered when choosing the unit of analysis, dimensions, indicators, poverty lines, and weights? 
2. How can normative choices be best made? 

Core readings: 

• UNDP & OPHI. (2019). How to Build a National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI): Using the MPI to inform the SDGs. UNDP, New York (Chapter 5 and Chapter 6). 
• Alkire, S., Foster, J. E., Seth, S., Santos, M. E., Roche, J. M., & Ballon, P. (2015). Multidimensional Poverty Measurement and Analysis, Oxford University Press (Chapter 7). 

Guiding Questions: 

1. What are the various sources of multidimensional data? 
2. What are the strength and limitations of each of these data sources? 
3. What are the issues to be considered when selecting and constructing the indicators to include in a multidimensional poverty measure? 
4. What are the types of missing values? 
5. What are the options to deal with missing values when constructing a multidimensional poverty measure? 

Core readings: 

• Alkire, S. & Santos, M. E. (2014). Measuring acute poverty in the developing world: Robustness and scope of the multidimensional poverty index. World Development, 59. Also available as OPHI Working Paper 59, University of Oxford. 
• Alkire, S., Kanagaratnam, U., Nogales, R. & Suppa, N. (2022). Revising the global Multidimensional Poverty Index: Empirical insight and robustness. The Review of Income & Wealth, 68(S2),1-38. 
• Alkire, S., Foster, J. E., Seth, S., Santos, M. E., Roche, J. M., & Ballon, P. (2015). Multidimensional Poverty Measurement and Analysis, Oxford University Press (Chapter 5.6) 

Additional resources: Visit the global MPI area of the website. Read global MPI reports, methodological notes, data tables and country briefings including the latest release. 

Guiding Questions: 

1. What is the global MPI? 
2. What are the different components and the structure of the global MPI? 
3. What are the motivations for the revision of the global MPI in 2018? 
4. What are the indicator options considered for the revision? 
5. Who is MPI poor? 
6. How can we identify global poverty levels? 
7. What information do the global MPI results provide? 

Core readings:  

• UNDP & OPHI. (2019). How to Build a National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI): Using the MPI to inform the SDGs. UNDP, New York (Chapter 5) 

Additional resources: Read official national MPI reports and check related country pages on the MPPN website. 

Guiding Questions: 

1. What can and should be considered when choosing the unit of analysis, dimensions, indicators, poverty lines, and weights? 
2. What are some examples of national MPIs and what considerations and normative decisions were taken? 

Core reading: 

• Alkire, S., Foster, J. E., Seth, S., Santos, M. E., Roche, J. M., & Ballon, P. (2015). Multidimensional Poverty Measurement and Analysis, Oxford University Press (Chapter 7.3). 

Guiding Questions: 

1. Why it is important to scrutinize the associations between different indicators? 
2. What are the limitations of the correlation analysis? 
3. What is the analysis and interpretation of redundancy? 

Core readings:

• Alkire, S., Foster, J. E., Seth, S., Santos, M. E., Roche, J. M., & Ballon, P. (2015). Multidimensional Poverty Measurement and Analysis, Oxford: Oxford University Press, (Chapter 1 and Chapter 2).
• UNDP & OPHI. (2019). How to Build a National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI): Using the MPI to inform the SDGs. UNDP, New York (Chapter 1).

Guiding Questions:

1. What is a multidimensional poverty measure?
2. What are the motivations for focusing on multidimensional poverty measurement and analysis?
3. What are the arguments for a multidimensional poverty measure? 
4. What does empirical evidence tell us about multidimensional poverty measures?

Core readings: 

• UNDP & OPHI. (2019). How to Build a National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI): Using the MPI to inform the SDGs. UNDP, New York (Chapter7). 
• Alkire, S., Foster, J. E., Seth, S., Santos, M. E., Roche, J. M., & Ballon, P. (2015). Multidimensional Poverty Measurement and Analysis, Oxford University Press (Chapter 8). 
• Alkire S., Kanagaratnam U., Nogales R., & Suppa N. (2019) Sensitivity analyses in poverty measurement: the case of the global multidimensional poverty index. IARIW World Bank Conference. 

Guiding Questions: 

1. How conclusive poverty comparisons are? 
2. Why it is crucial to compute and report inferential errors alongside point estimates? 
3. How to make effective use of standard errors? 

Core reading: 

• Suppa, N. (2022). ‘mpitb: A toolbox for multidimensional poverty indices.’ OPHI Research in Progress 62a, Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), University of Oxford 

Core reading: 

• UNDP & OPHI. (2019). How to Build a National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI): Using the MPI to inform the SDGs. UNDP, New York (Chapter 4 and 7) 

Additional resources: Read national and global MPI reports alongside the textbook and Handbook. 

Core reading: 

• UNDP & OPHI. (2019). How to Build a National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI): Using the MPI to inform the SDGs. UNDP, New York (Chapter 8). 
• Alkire, S., Foster, J. E., Seth, S., Santos, M. E., Roche, J. M., & Ballon, P. (2015). Multidimensional Poverty Measurement and Analysis, Oxford University Press (Chapter 9.2 –9.3). 

Additional resources: Read global MPI country briefings for over 80 countries with trends data. 
 

Core reading: 

• UNDP & OPHI. (2019). How to Build a National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI): Using the MPI to inform the SDGs. UNDP, New York (Chapter 3 and 9) 

Core reading: 

• UNDP & OPHI. (2019). How to Build a National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI): Using the MPI to inform the SDGs. UNDP, New York (Chapter 2 and 10). 

Core readings: 

• Seth S. & Tutor M. (2021). ‘Evaluation of Anti-Poverty Programs’ Impact on Joint Disadvantages: Insights From the Philippine Experience’, Review of Income & Wealth.27 February 2021. 
• Vaz, A., Malaeb, B. and Quinn, N.N. (2019). ‘Evaluation of programs with multiple objectives: Multidimensional methods and empirical application to Progress in Mexico’, OPHI Research in Progress 55a, University of Oxford. 
• OPHI and WFP (2022). Meta-Analysis of the impact and lessons learned for implementation of the Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) programme in Turkey (2016–20). Part 2: Focus Areas 2 and 3, Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and World Food Programme (WFP)