This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Multidimensional Poverty Measures from an Information Theory Perspective

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Maria Ana Lugo () (University of Oxford)
Esfandiar Maasoumi (Southern Methodist University)

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

This paper proposes to use an information theory approach to the design of multidimensional poverty indices. Traditional monetary approaches to poverty rely on the strong assumption that all relevant attributes of well-being are perfectly substitutable. Based on the idea of the essentiality of some attributes, scholars have recently suggested multidimensional poverty indices where the existence of a trade-off between attributes is relevant only for individuals who are below a poverty threshold in all of them (Bourguignon and Chakravarty 2003, Tsui 2002). The present paper proposes a method which encompasses both approaches and, moreover, it opens the door to an intermediate position which allows, to a certain extent, for substitution of attributes even in the case in which one or more (but not all) dimensions are above the set threshold. An application using individual well-being data from Indonesian households in 2000 is presented in order to compare the results under the different approaches.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.ecineq.org/milano/WP/ECINEQ2008-85.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality in its series Working Papers with number 85.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length: 38 pages
Date of creation: 2008
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:inq:inqwps:ecineq2008-85

Contact details of provider:
Email:
Web page: http://www.ecineq.org
More information through EDIRC

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Maria Ana Lugo).

Related research
Keywords: Multidimensional Poverty; Information Theory;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
C43 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Index Numbers and Aggregation

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Kai-yuen Tsui, 2002. "Multidimensional poverty indices," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 69-93. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Cowell, Frank A. & Kuga, Kiyoshi, 1981. "Additivity and the entropy concept: An axiomatic approach to inequality measurement," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 131-143, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Shorrocks, A F, 1980. "The Class of Additively Decomposable Inequality Measures," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 48(3), pages 613-25, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. François Bourguignon & Satya Chakravarty, 2003. "The Measurement of Multidimensional Poverty," Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 25-49, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. A. Atkinson, 2003. "Multidimensional Deprivation: Contrasting Social Welfare and Counting Approaches," Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 51-65, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Decancq, Koen & Decoster, André & Schokkaert, Erik, 2009. "The Evolution of World Inequality in Well-being," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 11-25, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  7. Pyatt, Graham, 1976. "On the Interpretation and Disaggregation of Gini Coefficients," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 86(342), pages 243-55, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Joseph Deutsch & Jacques Silber, 2005. "Measuring Multidimensional Poverty: An Empirical Comparison Of Various Approaches," Review of Income and Wealth, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 51(1), pages 145-174, 03. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Patricia Justino & Julie Litchfield & Yoko Niimi, 2004. "Multidimensional Inequality: An Empirial Application to Brazil," PRUS Working Papers 24, Poverty Research Unit at Sussex, University of Sussex. [Downloadable!]
  10. Dagum, Camilo, 1997. "A New Approach to the Decomposition of the Gini Income Inequality Ratio," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 515-31.
  11. Tsui Kai-Yuen, 1995. "Multidimensional Generalizations of the Relative and Absolute Inequality Indices: The Atkinson-Kolm-Sen Approach," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 251-265, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Atkinson, Anthony B., 1970. "On the measurement of inequality," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 2(3), pages 244-263, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Jean-Yves Duclos & David E. Sahn & Stephen D. Younger, 2006. "Robust Multidimensional Poverty Comparisons," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 116(514), pages 943-968, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  14. Sen, Amartya K, 1976. "Poverty: An Ordinal Approach to Measurement," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 44(2), pages 219-31, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Stéphane Mussard & Michel Terraza & Françoise Seyte, 2003. "Decomposition of Gini and the generalized entropy inequality measures," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 4(7), pages 1-6. [Downloadable!]
  16. Hirschberg, Joseph G. & Maasoumi, Esfandiar & Slottje, Daniel J., 1991. "Cluster analysis for measuring welfare and quality of life across countries," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1-2), pages 131-150, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Maria Ana Lugo, 2005. "Comparing Multidimensional Indices of Inequality: methods and application," Working Papers 14, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality. [Downloadable!]
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Joachim Merz & Tim Rathjen, 2009. "Time and Income Poverty: An Interdependent Multidimensional Poverty Approach with German Time Use Diary Data," SOEPpapers 215, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). [Downloadable!]
  2. Merz, Joachim & Rathjen, Tim, 2009. "Time and Income Poverty: An Interdependent Multidimensional Poverty Approach with German Time Use Diary Data," IZA Discussion Papers 4337, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? To receive notification of recent additions to the database, subscribe to the free NEP reports.

This page was last updated on 2010-1-31.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.