Did Poverty Reduction Reach the Poorest of the Poor? Assessment Methods in the Counting Approach

A number of multidimensional poverty measures have recently been proposed, within counting approach framework, respecting the ordinal nature of dimensions. Besides ensuring a reduction in poverty, however, it is important to monitor distributional changes to ensure that poverty reduction has been inclusive in reaching the poorest. Distributional issues are typically captured by adjusting a poverty measure to be sensitive to inequality among the poor. This approach however has certain practical limitations. It conflicts, for example, with some policy-relevant measurement features, such as the ability to decompose a measure into dimensions post-identification, and does not create an appropriate framework for assessing disparity in poverty across population subgroups. In this paper, we propose and justify the use of a separate decomposable inequality measure – a positive multiple of „variance‟ – to capture the distribution of deprivations among the poor and to assess disparity in poverty across population subgroups. We demonstrate the applicability of our approach through two contrasting intertemporal illustrations using Demographic Health Survey (DHS) datasets for Haiti and India. Seth and Alkire Pro-Poorest Poverty Reduction Assessment The Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) is a research centre within the Oxford Department of International Development, Queen Elizabeth House, at the University of Oxford. Led by Sabina Alkire, OPHI aspires to build and advance a more systematic methodological and economic framework for reducing multidimensional poverty, grounded in people’s experiences and values. This publication is copyright, however it may be reproduced without fee for teaching or non-profit purposes, but not for resale. Formal permission is required for all such uses, and will normally be granted immediately. For copying in any other circumstances, or for re-use in other publications, or for translation or adaptation, prior written permission must be obtained from OPHI and may be subject to a fee. Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI) Oxford Department of International Development Queen Elizabeth House (QEH), University of Oxford 3 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TB, UK Tel. +44 (0)1865 271915 Fax +44 (0)1865 281801 [email protected] http://www.ophi.org.uk The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s). Publication does not imply endorsement by OPHI or the University of Oxford, nor by the sponsors, of any of the views expressed.