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A Poverty Line Contingent on Reference Groups: Implications for the Extent of Poverty in some Asian Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Chakravarty, Satya R.

    (Asian Development Bank Institute)

  • Chattopadhyay, Nachiketa

    (Asian Development Bank Institute)

  • Silber, Jacques

    (Asian Development Bank Institute)

Abstract

This paper estimates the number of poor in various countries in Asia by applying an “amalgam poverty line”, which is a weighted average of an absolute poverty line (such as $1.25 per day or $1.45 per day) and a reference income (such as the mean or the median income). The number of poor is computed under various values of the weight applied to the absolute poverty line, namely 100%, 90%, 66%, and 50%. The paper provides estimates of the headcount ratio and poverty gap ratio under the various scenarios for 25 different countries or regions examined.

Suggested Citation

  • Chakravarty, Satya R. & Chattopadhyay, Nachiketa & Silber, Jacques, 2016. "A Poverty Line Contingent on Reference Groups: Implications for the Extent of Poverty in some Asian Countries," ADBI Working Papers 610, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0610
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Poverty; poverty line; poverty measurement; poverty headcount ratio; poverty gap ratio;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East

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