This paper gives an overview of the way the issue of poverty measurement is typically addressed in economics. After having briefly defined what is meant by poverty in economics, I examine successively the unidimensional approach to poverty based on the income or expenses, and the multidimensional approach, which introduces non-monetary attributes in addition to income. Particular emphasis is placed on those properties of the poverty measures, that are deemed reasonable, and on their implications for the structure of the corresponding indices. I also insist on the dominance approach, which allows one to take into account a large range of points of views concerning the way poverty should be assessed.
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Paper provided by Groupe de Recherche en Economie Théorique et Appliquée in its series Cahiers du GREThA with number
2008-06.
Find related papers by JEL classification: D30 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - General D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
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