Poverty Measurement in Ukraine: Criteria, Challenges and Prospects

The paper provides an overview of the methods and practices of poverty analysis in Ukraine. The specifics of using different methodological approaches to poverty measuring as well as the problem of selecting a criterion for determining the poverty threshold are reviewed. At the present stage of economic and social development in the study of poverty at the international and country levels, including Ukraine, a comprehensive approach that provides a multi-dimensional analysis is used. This approach is provided by the governmental State Purpose Social Program to Overcome and Prevent Poverty in Ukraine and Methodology of Comprehensive Poverty Estimation developed on its basis. The paper provides a description of the methodological approaches and the informational background that are used for official monitoring of the poverty situation as well as an overview of the main areas of a multidimensional analysis, conducted using a variety of criteria for poverty measuring. In addition to consideration of the "officially accepted" approaches to poverty measuring this paper contains a brief description of the surveys of perceived poverty and poverty-deprivation (deprivation of access to certain goods and services) conducted by the statistical bodies of Ukraine. A brief review of the methodology for determining the list of deprivations, developed in collaboration with national research organizations, is presented. Apart from that, the paper provides a brief overview of approaches outlined by methodology for evaluation of efficiency of social assistance programs, developed by the ministries and organizations dealing with poverty monitoring to determine the impact of these programs on the poverty situation in the country. The main conclusions of the paper are the following: The use of one criterion for poverty measurement does not give a possibility to adequately estimate the extent of this multifaceted phenomenon. The most effective way to study poverty is to use the system of different approaches to its measuring. In the future, Ukraine plans to expand the system of indicators for poverty research by living conditions (by deprivations) with regards to the availability of health and education systems as well as towards the harmonization with the approaches used in the EU. An important direction for the development of poverty statistics is to improve reliability of poverty measurement indicators based on the indirect assessment methods, including for small