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Poverty Measurement: We Know Less than Policy Makers Realize

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  • John Gibson
Abstract
There is a widespread policy interest in poverty estimates at both national and global level. There has been an explosion of poverty measurement in the last two decades enabled by the growing availability of household survey data. These measurements are used by policy-makers to assess progress towards national and global goals for inclusive growth and poverty reduction. But the evidence base rests on shaky foundations, and policy-makers may have undue confidence in poverty and inequality estimates. Many household surveys are poorly designed to measure monetary living standards and poverty in an era of rising affluence and urban transition. Some key problems in measuring food consumption, housing services and the cost of living are discussed here. Alternatives to monetary measurement, such as using questions on life satisfaction and happiness, also rest on shaky foundations.

Suggested Citation

  • John Gibson, 2016. "Poverty Measurement: We Know Less than Policy Makers Realize," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 3(3), pages 430-442, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:asiaps:v:3:y:2016:i:3:p:430-442
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1002/app5.141
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    Cited by:

    1. Lucci, Paula & Bhatkal, Tanvi & Khan, Amina, 2018. "Are we underestimating urban poverty?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 297-310.
    2. Bhuyan, Biswabhusan & Sahoo, Bimal Kishore & Suar, Damodar, 2020. "Nutritional status, poverty, and relative deprivation among socio-economic and gender groups in India: Is the growth inclusive?," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 18(C).
    3. John Gibson, 2019. "Are You Estimating the Right Thing? An Editor Reflects," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 41(3), pages 329-350.
    4. Hai‐Anh Dang & Dean Jolliffe & Calogero Carletto, 2019. "Data Gaps, Data Incomparability, And Data Imputation: A Review Of Poverty Measurement Methods For Data‐Scarce Environments," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 757-797, July.
    5. Kate R. Schneider & Luc Christiaensen & Patrick Webb & William A. Masters, 2023. "Assessing the affordability of nutrient‐adequate diets," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 105(2), pages 503-524, March.
    6. Biswabhusan Bhuyan & Bimal Kishore Sahoo & Damodar Suar, 2020. "Quantile Regression Analysis of Predictors of Calorie Demand in India: An Implication for Sustainable Development Goals," Journal of Quantitative Economics, Springer;The Indian Econometric Society (TIES), vol. 18(4), pages 825-859, December.
    7. Ola Hall & Mattias Ohlsson & Thortseinn Rognvaldsson, 2022. "Satellite Image and Machine Learning based Knowledge Extraction in the Poverty and Welfare Domain," Papers 2203.01068, arXiv.org.
    8. Zaira Najam & John Gibson, 2021. "Does within-country poverty convergence depend on spatial spillovers and the type of poverty measure? Evidence from Pakistan," Working Papers in Economics 21/07, University of Waikato.
    9. Eleftherios Giovanis & Oznur Ozdamar, 2021. "Regional employment support programs and multidimensional poverty of youth in Turkey," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 11(4), pages 583-609, December.
    10. Kovacic, Zora & Musango, Josephine Kaviti & Ambole, Lorraine Amollo & Buyana, Kareem & Smit, Suzanne & Anditi, Christer & Mwau, Baraka & Ogot, Madara & Lwasa, Shuaib & Brent, Alan C. & Nsangi, Gloria , 2019. "Interrogating differences: A comparative analysis of Africa’s informal settlements," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 614-627.
    11. Megbowon Ebenezer Toyin, 2018. "Multidimensional Poverty Analysis of Urban and Rural Households in South Africa," Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Oeconomica, Sciendo, vol. 63(1), pages 3-19, April.
    12. Okrasa Włodzimierz & Rozkrut Dominik, 2018. "The Wellbeing Effect Of Community Development. Some Measurement And Modeling Issues," Statistics in Transition New Series, Statistics Poland, vol. 19(2), pages 359-376, June.
    13. Argatu Ruxandra, 2018. "The role of Romanian social enterprises in the alleviation of poverty and social exclusion," Management & Marketing, Sciendo, vol. 13(4), pages 1257-1275, December.
    14. Nguyen, Hien & Doan, Tinh & Quang Tran, tuyen, 2017. "Contribution to income inequality by income source: A comparison across ethnic groups in Vietnam," MPRA Paper 88821, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 18 Jan 2018.
    15. Brooks, Mark & Lippe, Rattiya S. & Waibel, Hermann, 2021. "PAPI is gone, but errors remain: Non-sampling errors in household surveys," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315277, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    16. Schneider, Kate R., 2022. "Nationally representative estimates of the cost of adequate diets, nutrient level drivers, and policy options for households in rural Malawi," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    17. Mark Brooks & Rattiya S. Lippe & Hermann Waibel, 2020. "Comprehensive data quality studies as a component of poverty assessments," TVSEP Working Papers wp-019, Leibniz Universitaet Hannover, Institute for Environmental Economics and World Trade, Project TVSEP.
    18. Włodzimierz Okrasa & Dominik Rozkrut, 2018. "The Wellbeing Effect Of Community Development. Some Measurement And Modeling Issues," Statistics in Transition New Series, Polish Statistical Association, vol. 19(2), pages 359-376, June.
    19. Sweeney, Sedona & Mukora, Rachel & Candfield, Sophie & Guinness, Lorna & Grant, Alison D. & Vassall, Anna, 2018. "Measuring income for catastrophic cost estimates: Limitations and policy implications of current approaches," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 215(C), pages 7-15.
    20. John Gibson & Alessandro Romeo, 2017. "Fiscal-Food Policies are Likely Misinformed by Biased Price Elasticities from Household Surveys: Evidence from Melanesia," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 4(3), pages 405-416, September.
    21. Gibson, John & Le, Trinh, 2019. "Using local expert knowledge to measure prices: Evidence from a survey experiment in Vietnam," MPRA Paper 92533, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    22. Mousumi Das, 2021. "Vulnerability to Food Insecurity: A Decomposition Exercise for Rural India using the Expected Utility Approach," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 156(1), pages 167-199, July.
    23. Oznur Ozdamar & Eleftherios Giovanis, 2019. "Youth Multidimensional Poverty and Its Dynamics: Evidence From Selected Countries In The Mena Region," Working Papers 1339, Economic Research Forum, revised 21 Aug 2019.
    24. Balint Menyhert, 2024. "Absolute Poverty Measurement with Minimum Food Needs: A New Inverse Method for Advanced Economies," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 174(1), pages 313-351, August.
    25. John Gibson & Trinh Le, 2018. "Improved Modelling of Spatial Cost of Living Differences in Developing Countries: A Comparison of Expert Knowledge and Traditional Price Surveys," Working Papers in Economics 18/08, University of Waikato.

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    JEL classification:

    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

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