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Absolute and Relative Deprivation and the Measurement of Poverty

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  • Philippe Gr goire
  • Jean-Yves Duclos

Abstract

This paper develops the link between poverty and inequality by focusing on a class of poverty indices (some of them well-known) which aggregate normative concerns for absolute and relative deprivation. The indices are distinguished by a parameter that captures the ethical sensitivity of poverty measurement to ""exclusion"" or ""relative-deprivation"" aversion. We also show how the indices can be readily used to predict the impact of growth on poverty. An illustration using LIS data finds that the United States show more relative deprivation than Denmark and Belgium whatever the percentiles considered, but that overall deprivation comparisons of the four countries considered will generally necessarily depend on the intensity of the ethical concern for relative deprivation. The impact of growth on poverty is also seen to depend on the presence of and on the attention granted to concerns over relative deprivation.

Suggested Citation

  • Philippe Gr goire & Jean-Yves Duclos, 1999. "Absolute and Relative Deprivation and the Measurement of Poverty," LIS Working papers 213, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    • Handle: RePEc:lis:liswps:213
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    2. Imran Sharif Chaudhry & Shahnawaz Malik & Abo ul Hassan, 2009. "The Impact of Socioeconomic and Demographic Variables on Poverty: A Village Study," Lahore Journal of Economics, Department of Economics, The Lahore School of Economics, vol. 14(1), pages 39-68, Jan-Jun.
    3. Olga Alonso-Villar & Coral del Río, 2024. "Poverty among same-sex couple families in the United States: Is there a premium for married couples?," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 22(2), pages 495-517, June.
    4. Miles Corak, 2005. "Principles and Practicalities for Measuring Child Poverty in Rich Countries," LIS Working papers 406, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    5. Benoit Decerf, 2021. "Combining absolute and relative poverty: income poverty measurement with two poverty lines," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 56(2), pages 325-362, February.
    6. Heindl, Peter & Schüßler, Rudolf, 2019. "A deprivation-based assessment of energy poverty: Conceptual problems and application to Germany," ZEW Discussion Papers 19-036, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    7. Fafchamps, Marcel & Shilpi, Forhad, 2008. "Subjective welfare, isolation, and relative consumption," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(1), pages 43-60, April.
    8. Marchand, J. & Smeeding, T., 2016. "Poverty and Aging," Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, in: Piggott, John & Woodland, Alan (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 905-950, Elsevier.
      • Marchand, Joseph & Smeeding, Timothy, 2016. "Poverty and Aging," Working Papers 2016-11, University of Alberta, Department of Economics, revised 20 Nov 2016.
    9. Faiz Muhammad & Amjad Ali, 2017. "Impact of Socio Economics Variables on Poverty: An Empirical Analysis for District Chitral of KPK Pakistan," Journal of Social and Development Sciences, AMH International, vol. 8(3), pages 46-53.
    10. Franz F. Eiffe & Karin Heitzmann, 2006. "Armut im Kontext reicher Staaten: zur wissenschaftlichen Operationalisierung eines normativen Begriffs," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 75(1), pages 43-57.
    11. Mehmet Pinar, 2019. "Multidimensional Well-Being and Inequality Across the European Regions with Alternative Interactions Between the Well-Being Dimensions," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 144(1), pages 31-72, July.
    12. Marek Kośny, 2012. "Relative Income Changes and an Identification of Growth Pattern," Working Papers 268, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    13. Alfredo Serrano Mancilla, 2006. "Reformas socialmente eficientes del IVA en España," Investigaciones Economicas, Fundación SEPI, vol. 30(2), pages 381-398, May.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D6 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty
    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development

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