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How Should We Measure Global Poverty in a Changing World?

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  • Lars Osberg
  • Kuan Xu

Abstract

Before effective anti-poverty policy can be designed and implemented, the extent, trend and distribution of poverty must be identified. In this sense, poverty measurement is a crucial intermediate step in public policymaking and development planning. This paper asks whether the estimated proportion of the world's population with income below US$1 (adjusted according to purchasing power parity) per day is a good measure of trends in global poverty.

Suggested Citation

  • Lars Osberg & Kuan Xu, 2006. "How Should We Measure Global Poverty in a Changing World?," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2006-64, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:rp2006-64
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    File URL: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/rp2006-64.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Richard V. Burkhauser & Timothy M. Smeeding & Joachim Merz, 1996. "Relative Inequality And Poverty In Germany And The United States Using Alternative Equivalence Scales," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 42(4), pages 381-400, December.
    2. François Bourguignon & Satya R. Chakravarty, 2019. "The Measurement of Multidimensional Poverty," Themes in Economics, in: Satya R. Chakravarty (ed.), Poverty, Social Exclusion and Stochastic Dominance, pages 83-107, Springer.
    3. Fields, Gary S, 1977. "Who Benefits from Economic Development?-A Reexamination of Brazilian Growth in the 1960's," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 67(4), pages 570-582, September.
    4. Clark, Stephen & Hemming, Richard & Ulph, David, 1981. "On Indices for the Measurement of Poverty," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 91(362), pages 515-526, June.
    5. Coulter, Fiona A E & Cowell, Frank A & Jenkins, Stephen P, 1992. "Equivalence Scale Relativities and the Extent of Inequality and Poverty," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 102(414), pages 1067-1082, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Hudec, Oto & Urbančíková, Nataša & Džupka, Peter & Šebová, Miriam & Klimovský, Daniel & Suhányi, Ladislav & Želinský, Tomáš, 2009. "Podoby regionálneho a miestneho rozvoja [Patterns of Regional and Local Development]," MPRA Paper 113811, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Lars Osberg & Jiaping Shao & Kuan Xu, 2009. "The growth of poor children in China 1991–2000: why food subsidies may matter," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(S1), pages 89-108, April.

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