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A Different Perspective on Poverty in Lao PDR: Multidimensional Poverty in Lao PDR for the Years 2002/2003 and 2007/2008

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  • Christoph Bader
  • Sabin Bieri
  • Urs Wiesmann
  • Andreas Heinimann

Abstract

This paper presents an indicator for measuring multidimensional poverty in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic applying the Alkire–Foster methodology to the Lao Expenditure and Consumption Survey 2002/2003 and 2007/2008. We calculated a multidimensional poverty index (MPI) that includes three dimensions: education, health, and standard of living. Making use of the MPI’s decomposability, we analyse how much each of the different dimensions and its respective indicators contribute to the overall MPI. We find a marked reduction in the multidimensional poverty headcount ratio over the study period, regardless of how the indicators are weighted or how the deprivation and poverty cut-offs are set. This reduction is based on improvements regarding all indicators except cooking fuel and nutrition. We observe no significant reduction in the intensity of poverty, however; there are wide disparities between the country’s regions and between urban and rural areas. The proportion of poor people in rural areas is more than twice as high as that in urban areas. By complementing the traditional income-based poverty measure, we hope to provide useful information that can support knowledge-based decision-making for poverty alleviation. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016

Suggested Citation

  • Christoph Bader & Sabin Bieri & Urs Wiesmann & Andreas Heinimann, 2016. "A Different Perspective on Poverty in Lao PDR: Multidimensional Poverty in Lao PDR for the Years 2002/2003 and 2007/2008," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 126(2), pages 483-502, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:126:y:2016:i:2:p:483-502
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-015-0900-2
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    2. Sanjay K. Mohanty & Guru Vasishtha, 2021. "Contextualizing multidimensional poverty in urban India," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 13(3), pages 234-253, September.
    3. Wei Zou & Xiaopei Cheng & Zengzeng Fan & Wenxi Yin, 2023. "Multidimensional Relative Poverty in China: Identification and Decomposition," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-27, March.
    4. Christoph Bader & Sabin Bieri & Urs Wiesmann & Andreas Heinimann, 2016. "Differences Between Monetary and Multidimensional Poverty in the Lao PDR: Implications for Targeting of Poverty Reduction Policies and Interventions," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(2), pages 171-197, June.
    5. Tabish Nawab & Saqlain Raza & Malik Shahzad Shabbir & Ghulam Yahya Khan & Sana Bashir, 2023. "Multidimensional poverty index across districts in Punjab, Pakistan: estimation and rationale to consolidate with SDGs," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 1301-1325, February.

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