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$1.90 Per Day: What Does it Say?

Author

Listed:
  • Sanjay G. Reddy

    (The New School for Social Research)

  • Rahul Lahoti

    (Georg-August-University Göttingen)

Abstract

The World Bank’s global poverty estimates suffer from deep-seated problems arising from a single source, the lack of a standard for identifying who is poor and who is not that is consistent and meaningful. The new choice of an international poverty line of $1.90 (2011 PPP) does not in any way resolve these problems. We present alternate estimates of global, regional and national poverty based on reasoning as to what the Bank’s own method, consistently applied, would entail. These show an increase in the absolute number of poor since 1980 or 1990 for certain choices of poverty line. However, we recommend an approach to income poverty assessment that is altogether different, focusing directly on identifying the real requirements of human beings to attain incomedependent human capabilities.

Suggested Citation

  • Sanjay G. Reddy & Rahul Lahoti, 2015. "$1.90 Per Day: What Does it Say?," Courant Research Centre: Poverty, Equity and Growth - Discussion Papers 189, Courant Research Centre PEG.
    • Handle: RePEc:got:gotcrc:189
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Subramanian,, 2012. "The Poverty Line: Oxford India Short Introductions," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198086086.
    2. Angus Deaton, 2003. "How to Monitor Poverty for the Millennium Development Goals," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(3), pages 353-378.
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    6. Shaohua Chen & Martin Ravallion, 2004. "How Have the World's Poorest Fared since the Early 1980s?," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 19(2), pages 141-169.
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    9. Hassoun, Nicole & Subramanian, S., 2012. "An aspect of variable population poverty comparisons," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(2), pages 238-241.
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    Cited by:

    1. Collin Constantine, 2020. "A Community Divided: Top Incomes in CARICOM Member States," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 32(3), pages 738-758, July.
    2. Langridge Nicholas & Buchs Milena & Howard Neil, 2023. "An Ecological Basic Income? Examining the Ecological Credentials of Basic Income Through a Review of Selected Pilot Interventions," Basic Income Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 18(1), pages 47-87, June.
    3. Ziheng Shangguan & Jianping Liu & Mark Yaolin Wang & Shaojun Chen & Ruilian Zhang, 2023. "Have Water Conservancy Project Resettlers in Contemporary China Really Been Lifted Out of Poverty? Re-Measurement Based on Relative Poverty and Consumption Poverty," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, January.
    4. Amita Majumder & Ranjan Ray & Sattwik Santra, 2016. "Global and Country Poverty Rates, Welfare Rankings of the Regions and Purchasing Power Parities: How Robust Are the Results?," Monash Economics Working Papers 11-16, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    5. Christopher Hoy & Andy Sumner, 2021. "The End of Global Poverty: Is the UN Sustainable Development Goal 1 (Still) Achievable?," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 12(4), pages 419-429, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Global Poverty; International Poverty Line; World Bank; Welfare; Capability; alternate estimates; purchasing power parity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty

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