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Dynamic Identification of Relative Poverty Among Chinese Households Using the Multiway Mahalanobis–Taguchi System: A Sustainable Livelihoods Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Zhipeng Chang

    (School of Business, Anhui University of Technology, Ma’anshan 243032, China)

  • Yuehua Wang

    (School of Business, Anhui University of Technology, Ma’anshan 243032, China)

  • Wenhe Chen

    (School of Economics and Management, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241000, China
    Key Laboratory of Multidisciplinary Management and Control of Complex Systems of Anhui Higher Education Institutes, Anhui University of Technology, Ma’anshan 243032, China)

Abstract

To promote global sustainable development, this paper focuses on the identification of relative poverty. On the one hand, based on the sustainable livelihoods framework, a multi-dimensional relative poverty identification index system is constructed, covering six dimensions—human capital, financial capital, natural capital, physical capital, social capital, and livelihood environment—with a total of 18 indexes. On the other hand, addressing the limitations of traditional relative poverty identification methods in handling dynamic three-dimensional data, the multiway Mahalanobis–Taguchi system (MMTS) is proposed to identify dynamic relative poverty. This method first unfolds dynamic three-dimensional data into two-dimensional data along the sample direction through multiway statistical analysis techniques, then constructs multiway Mahalanobis distances to measure sample differences, and finally uses a Taguchi orthogonal experimental design for dimensionality reduction and noise reduction to optimize the model. Experiments using tracking survey data from 2020 to 2024 in three poverty-stricken counties in China’s Dabie Mountain area show that MMTS performs better than the Two-Way Fixed Effects (Two-way FE) model and Dynamic LSTM. MMTS shows a higher specificity, stronger noise resistance, smaller result fluctuations, better G-means performance, and a better balance between sensitivity and specificity. This proves its scientific validity and practical applicability.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhipeng Chang & Yuehua Wang & Wenhe Chen, 2025. "Dynamic Identification of Relative Poverty Among Chinese Households Using the Multiway Mahalanobis–Taguchi System: A Sustainable Livelihoods Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-22, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:12:p:5384-:d:1676524
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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