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Who are the world’s poor? A new profile of global multidimensional poverty

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  • Robles Aguilar, Gisela
  • Sumner, Andy

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the following question: Who are the world’s multidimensionally poor? To answer this, we compare and contrast the original Alkire–Foster measure of multidimensional poverty with other multidimensional indices in order to show how they differ and the consequences for poverty headcount estimates. We assess the extent of the multidimensionality of poverty using the original Alkire–Foster measure of multidimensional poverty. We then make estimates of the global profile of multidimensional poverty in 2015 using the Alkire–Foster measure and two alternative indices. We conclude that the world’s multidimensionally poor are largely young people, residing in rural areas though not necessarily working in agriculture. Overall, the contribution of the paper is to explain how multidimensional poverty indices differ; and to present a new set of estimates of the global multidimensional poverty profile for 2015.

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  • Robles Aguilar, Gisela & Sumner, Andy, 2020. "Who are the world’s poor? A new profile of global multidimensional poverty," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:126:y:2020:i:c:s0305750x19303651
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.104716
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    1. Satya R. Chakravarty & Conchita D’Ambrosio, 2019. "The Measurement of Social Exclusion," Themes in Economics, in: Satya R. Chakravarty (ed.), Poverty, Social Exclusion and Stochastic Dominance, pages 167-189, Springer.
    2. Alkire, Sabina & Foster, James & Seth, Suman & Santos, Maria Emma & Roche, Jose Manuel & Ballon, Paola, 2015. "Multidimensional Poverty Measurement and Analysis," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199689491.
    3. Sabina Alkire, James E. Foster, Suman Seth, Maria Emma Santos, Jose M. Roche and Paola Ballon, 2015. "Multidimensional Poverty Measurement and Analysis: Chapter 9 - Distribution and Dynamics," OPHI Working Papers ophiwp090_ch9.pdf, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
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    6. Sabina Alkire, James E. Foster, Suman Seth, Maria Emma Santos, José M. Roche and Paola Ballon, 2015. "Multidimensional Poverty Measurement and Analysis: Chapter 7 - Data and Analysis," OPHI Working Papers ophiwp088_ch7.pdf, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    7. Diego Battiston & Guillermo Cruces & Luis Lopez-Calva & Maria Lugo & Maria Santos, 2013. "Income and Beyond: Multidimensional Poverty in Six Latin American Countries," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 112(2), pages 291-314, June.
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    14. Castañeda, Andrés & Doan, Dung & Newhouse, David & Nguyen, Minh Cong & Uematsu, Hiroki & Azevedo, João Pedro, 2018. "A New Profile of the Global Poor," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 250-267.
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    4. Sabina Alkire & Usha Kanagaratnam & Ricardo Nogales & Nicolai Suppa, 2022. "Revising the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index: Empirical Insights and Robustness," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 68(S2), pages 347-384, December.
    5. Uduak Akpan & Salisu Isihak, 2020. "The Geography of Poverty in Nigeria," Working Papers 20/035, European Xtramile Centre of African Studies (EXCAS).
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    7. Jinfang Wang & Hui Xiao & Xiaojin Liu, 2022. "The Impact of Social Capital on Multidimensional Poverty of Rural Households in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-16, December.
    8. Kai Wang & Chang Gan & Lijun Chen & Mihai Voda, 2020. "Poor Residents’ Perceptions of the Impacts of Tourism on Poverty Alleviation: From the Perspective of Multidimensional Poverty," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-18, September.
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