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Conceptual and Measurement Issues in Poverty Analysis

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  • Erik Thorbecke

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to review a number of issues related to poverty, while taking stock of the ongoing research. Most of the remaining unresolved issues in poverty analysis are related directly or indirectly to the dynamics of poverty. Before the development community can become more successful in designing and implementing poverty-alleviation strategies, within the context of growth, we need to understand better the conditions under which some households remain permanently (chronically) poor and how others move in and out of poverty.

Suggested Citation

  • Erik Thorbecke, 2004. "Conceptual and Measurement Issues in Poverty Analysis," WIDER Working Paper Series DP2004-04, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:dp2004-04
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    File URL: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/dp2004-004.pdf
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    Cited by:

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    2. Emma Aisbett, 2007. "Why are the Critics So Convinced that Globalization is Bad for the Poor?," NBER Chapters, in: Globalization and Poverty, pages 33-86, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Cruces, Guillermo, 2005. "Income fluctuation, poverty and well-being over time: theory and application to Argentina," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 6545, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Nissanke, Machiko & Thorbecke, Erik, 2006. "Channels and policy debate in the globalization-inequality-poverty nexus," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(8), pages 1338-1360, August.
    5. Bigsten, Arne & Shimeles, Abebe, 2005. "Can Africa Reduce Poverty by Half by 2015? The Case for a Pro-Poor Growth Strategy," Working Papers in Economics 177, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    6. Hojman, Daniel & Kast, Felipe, 2009. "On the Measurement of Poverty Dynamics," Working Paper Series rwp09-035, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    7. Christina Steinbacher, 2024. "The pursuit of welfare efficiency: when institutional structures turn ‘less’ into ‘more’," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 57(2), pages 353-378, June.
    8. Maharjan, Keshav Lall & Joshi, Niraj Prakash, 2007. "A Poverty Analysis in Baitadi District, Rural Far Western Hills of Nepal: An Inequality Decomposition Analysis," MPRA Paper 35384, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Ayşe Savaş & Julide Yildirim, 2017. "Education, Social Assistance And Employment Dynamics: A Panel Data Approach," EcoMod2017 10747, EcoMod.
    10. Oluwaseun A. Oyebamiji & Mohsin Khan, 2023. "Multidimensional poverty in South‐West Nigeria: Empirical insights from a household survey in Osun State," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(2), pages 227-250, June.
    11. Joshi, Niraj Prakash & Maharjan, Keshav Lall & Piya, Luni, 2010. "Poverty and Food Insecurity in Nepal A Review," MPRA Paper 35387, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Channing Arndt & Kristi Mahrt & Finn Tarp, 2016. "Absolute poverty lines," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-8, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    13. Wim Marivoet & Tom De Herdt, 2015. "Poverty Lines as Context Deflators: A Method to Account for Regional Diversity with Application to the Democratic Republic of Congo," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 61(2), pages 329-352, June.
    14. Channing Arndt & Kristi Mahrt & Finn Tarp, 2016. "Absolute poverty lines," WIDER Working Paper Series 008, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    15. Daisy Das & Ratul Mahanta, 2015. "Vulnerability to Poverty: A Survey," Working Papers 1504, Sam Houston State University, Department of Economics and International Business.
    16. Emiliano Magrini & Pierluigi Montalbano, 2012. "Trade openness and vulnerability to poverty: Vietnam in the long-run (1992-2008)," Working Paper Series 3512, Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School.
    17. Ahmed Rufai & Danjuma Abegye Nuhu & Yusuf Yakubu, 2023. "Assessment of The Challenges Facing SMEs in Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 7(5), pages 959-966, May.
    18. Mousumi Das, 2021. "Vulnerability to Food Insecurity: A Decomposition Exercise for Rural India using the Expected Utility Approach," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 156(1), pages 167-199, July.
    19. James Foster & Joel Greer & Erik Thorbecke, 2010. "The Foster–Greer–Thorbecke (FGT) poverty measures: 25 years later," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 8(4), pages 491-524, December.
    20. Guanghua Wan, 2006. "Poverty Accounting by Factor Components: With an Empirical Illustration Using Chinese Data," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2006-63, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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