IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/unu/wpaper/dp2004-04.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Conceptual and Measurement Issues in Poverty Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Erik Thorbecke

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to review a number of issues related to poverty, while taking stock of the ongoing research. Most of the remaining unresolved issues in poverty analysis are related directly or indirectly to the dynamics of poverty. Before the development community can become more successful in designing and implementing poverty-alleviation strategies, within the context of growth, we need to understand better the conditions under which some households remain permanently (chronically) poor and how others move in and out of poverty.

Suggested Citation

  • Erik Thorbecke, 2004. "Conceptual and Measurement Issues in Poverty Analysis," WIDER Working Paper Series DP2004-04, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:dp2004-04
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/dp2004-004.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Foster, James & Greer, Joel & Thorbecke, Erik, 1984. "A Class of Decomposable Poverty Measures," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 52(3), pages 761-766, May.
    2. Christian Morrisson, 2002. "Health, Education and Poverty Reduction," OECD Development Centre Policy Briefs 19, OECD Publishing.
    3. Wood, Geof, 2003. "Staying Secure, Staying Poor: The "Faustian Bargain"," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 455-471, March.
    4. Ravi Kanbur & Diganta Mukherjee, 2007. "Premature Mortality And Poverty Measurement," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(4), pages 339-359, October.
    5. Ethan Ligon & Laura Schechter, 2003. "Measuring Vulnerability," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 113(486), pages 95-102, March.
    6. Tarp, Finn & Simler, Kenneth & Matusse, Cristina & Heltberg, Rasmus & Dava, Gabriel, 2002. "The Robustness of Poverty Profiles Reconsidered," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 51(1), pages 77-108, October.
    7. Atkinson, Anthony B., 1970. "On the measurement of inequality," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 2(3), pages 244-263, September.
    8. Jalan, Jyotsna & Ravallion, Martin, 1998. "Determinants of transient and chronic poverty : evidence from rural China," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1936, The World Bank.
    9. Ali Abdel Gadir Ali & Erik Thorbecke, 2000. "The State and Path of Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa: some Preliminary Results," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 9(Supplemen), pages 9-40.
    10. Hulme, David & Shepherd, Andrew, 2003. "Conceptualizing Chronic Poverty," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 403-423, March.
    11. Ravallion, Martin & Bidani, Benu, 1994. "How Robust Is a Poverty Profile?," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 8(1), pages 75-102, January.
    12. Chris Elbers & Jan Willem Gunning, 2004. "Estimating Vulnerability," Development and Comp Systems 0408015, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. McCulloch, Neil & Calandrino, Michele, 2003. "Vulnerability and Chronic Poverty in Rural Sichuan," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 611-628, March.
    14. Christiaensen, Luc J.M. & Boisvert, Richard N., 2000. "On Measuring Household Food Vulnerability: Case Evidence from Northern Mali," Working Papers 127676, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    15. Mckay, Andrew & Lawson, David, 2003. "Assessing the Extent and Nature of Chronic Poverty in Low Income Countries: Issues and Evidence," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 425-439, March.
    16. Gaiha, Raghav & Deolalikar, Anil B, 1993. "Persistent, Expected and Innate Poverty: Estimates for Semi-arid Rural South India, 1975-1984," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 17(4), pages 409-421, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Basu, Kaushik & Nolen, Patrick, 2004. "Vulnerability, Unemployment and Poverty: A New Class of Measures, Its Axiomatic Properties and Application," Working Papers 04-07, Cornell University, Center for Analytic Economics.
    2. Emma Aisbett, 2007. "Why are the Critics So Convinced that Globalization is Bad for the Poor?," NBER Chapters, in: Globalization and Poverty, pages 33-86, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Cruces, Guillermo, 2005. "Income fluctuation, poverty and well-being over time: theory and application to Argentina," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 6545, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Nissanke, Machiko & Thorbecke, Erik, 2006. "Channels and policy debate in the globalization-inequality-poverty nexus," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(8), pages 1338-1360, August.
    5. Bigsten, Arne & Shimeles, Abebe, 2005. "Can Africa Reduce Poverty by Half by 2015? The Case for a Pro-Poor Growth Strategy," Working Papers in Economics 177, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    6. Hojman, Daniel & Kast, Felipe, 2009. "On the Measurement of Poverty Dynamics," Working Paper Series rwp09-035, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    7. Maharjan, Keshav Lall & Joshi, Niraj Prakash, 2007. "A Poverty Analysis in Baitadi District, Rural Far Western Hills of Nepal: An Inequality Decomposition Analysis," MPRA Paper 35384, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Ayşe Savaş & Julide Yildirim, 2017. "Education, Social Assistance And Employment Dynamics: A Panel Data Approach," EcoMod2017 10747, EcoMod.
    9. Oluwaseun A. Oyebamiji & Mohsin Khan, 2023. "Multidimensional poverty in South‐West Nigeria: Empirical insights from a household survey in Osun State," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(2), pages 227-250, June.
    10. Joshi, Niraj Prakash & Maharjan, Keshav Lall & Piya, Luni, 2010. "Poverty and Food Insecurity in Nepal A Review," MPRA Paper 35387, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Channing Arndt & Kristi Mahrt & Finn Tarp, 2016. "Absolute poverty lines," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-8, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    12. Wim Marivoet & Tom De Herdt, 2015. "Poverty Lines as Context Deflators: A Method to Account for Regional Diversity with Application to the Democratic Republic of Congo," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 61(2), pages 329-352, June.
    13. Channing Arndt & Kristi Mahrt & Finn Tarp, 2016. "Absolute poverty lines," WIDER Working Paper Series 008, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    14. Daisy Das & Ratul Mahanta, 2015. "Vulnerability to Poverty: A Survey," Working Papers 1504, Sam Houston State University, Department of Economics and International Business.
    15. Emiliano Magrini & Pierluigi Montalbano, 2012. "Trade openness and vulnerability to poverty: Vietnam in the long-run (1992-2008)," Working Paper Series 3512, Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School.
    16. Ahmed Rufai & Danjuma Abegye Nuhu & Yusuf Yakubu, 2023. "Assessment of The Challenges Facing SMEs in Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 7(5), pages 959-966, May.
    17. 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.
    18. James Foster & Joel Greer & Erik Thorbecke, 2010. "The Foster–Greer–Thorbecke (FGT) poverty measures: 25 years later," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 8(4), pages 491-524, December.
    19. Guanghua Wan, 2006. "Poverty Accounting by Factor Components: With an Empirical Illustration Using Chinese Data," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2006-63, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. James Foster & Joel Greer & Erik Thorbecke, 2010. "The Foster–Greer–Thorbecke (FGT) poverty measures: 25 years later," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 8(4), pages 491-524, December.
    2. James E. Foster & Joel Greer & Erik Thorbecke, 2010. "The Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) Poverty Measures: Twenty-Five Years Later," Working Papers 2010-14, The George Washington University, Institute for International Economic Policy.
    3. Aiyemo, Babatunde, 2020. "Recessions and the vulnerable," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    4. Ward, Patrick S., 2016. "Transient Poverty, Poverty Dynamics, and Vulnerability to Poverty: An Empirical Analysis Using a Balanced Panel from Rural China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 541-553.
    5. Mai, Tung & Mahadevan, Renuka, 2016. "A research note on the poverty dynamics and cost of poverty inequality: Case study of Indonesia," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 100-107.
    6. Mauricio Gallardo, 2018. "Identifying Vulnerability To Poverty: A Critical Survey," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(4), pages 1074-1105, September.
    7. Emiliano Magrini & Pierluigi Montalbano, 2012. "Trade openness and vulnerability to poverty: Vietnam in the long-run (1992-2008)," Working Paper Series 3512, Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School.
    8. Zereyesus, Yacob & Embaye, Weldensie & Tsiboe, Francis & Amanor-Boadu, Vincent, 2016. "Participation in non-farm work and vulnerability to food poverty of households in northern Ghana," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235741, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Bigsten, Arne & Shimeles, Abebe, 2008. "Poverty Transition and Persistence in Ethiopia: 1994-2004," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 1559-1584, September.
    10. Zereyesus, Yacob A. & Embaye, Weldensie T. & Tsiboe, Francis & Amanor-Boadu, Vincent, 2017. "Implications of Non-Farm Work to Vulnerability to Food Poverty-Recent Evidence From Northern Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 113-124.
    11. Sabina Alkire & Mauricio Apablaza & Satya R. Chakravarty & Gaston Yalonetzky, 2014. "Measuring Chronic Multidimensional Poverty: A Counting Approach," OPHI Working Papers 75, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    12. Azeem, Muhammad Masood & Mugera, Amin W. & Schilizzi, Steven, 2016. "Poverty and vulnerability in the Punjab, Pakistan: A multilevel analysis," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 57-72.
    13. Muhammad Masood Azeem & Amin W. Mugera & Steven Schilizzi & Kadambot H. M. Siddique, 2017. "An Assessment of Vulnerability to Poverty in Punjab, Pakistan: Subjective Choices of Poverty Indicators," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 134(1), pages 117-152, October.
    14. Duclos, Jean-Yves & Araar, Abdelkrim & Giles, John, 2010. "Chronic and transient poverty: Measurement and estimation, with evidence from China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(2), pages 266-277, March.
    15. Celidoni, Martina, 2011. "Vulnerability to poverty: An empirical comparison of alternative measures," MPRA Paper 33002, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Guillermo Cruces, 2005. "Income Fluctuations, Poverty and Well-Being Over Time: Theory and Application to Argentina," Labor and Demography 0502007, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Montalbano, Pierluigi, 2011. "Trade Openness and Developing Countries' Vulnerability: Concepts, Misconceptions, and Directions for Research," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(9), pages 1489-1502, September.
    18. Baiyegunhi, L.J.S. & Fraser, Gavin C.G., 2010. "Determinants of Household Poverty Dynamics in Rural Regions of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa," 2010 AAAE Third Conference/AEASA 48th Conference, September 19-23, 2010, Cape Town, South Africa 97078, African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE).
    19. Cockburn, John & Duclos, Jean-Yves & Zabsonré, Agnès, 2014. "Is global social welfare increasing? A critical-level enquiry," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 151-162.
    20. Henrietta A. Asiamah, 2021. "Childhood Chronic Poverty Estimations: Looking Beyond a Count Index," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 14(1), pages 185-215, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:dp2004-04. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Siméon Rapin (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/widerfi.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.