Abstract
Sabine Alkire and Andy Sumner advocate the use of a global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) for the post-2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Authors support the use of what they call a ‘headline’ MDG indicator to provide an intuitive, accessible measure of multidimensional poverty (comprising dimensions such as health, education, and standard of living) to complement the income-based approach to poverty exemplified by the World Bank’s $1.25/day standard. The Global MPI covers over 100 developing countries. Authors suggest that an ‘MPI 2.0’ could be created with dimensions, indicators and cutoffs that reflect the post-2015 MDG consensus.
Notes
85 percent of pair-wise comparisons are the same if the weights on each dimension vary between 25 percent and 50 percent of the total (Alkire and Santos, 2010; Alkire and Santos, 2013).
Alkire and Roche (2013) analyse trends in MPI for 22 countries (embargoed until 15 March 2013).
OPHI has an ongoing research project on this topic.
UNICEF’s ongoing work with governments to generate quality evidence on multidimensional child poverty and disparities, including the latest Multiple, Overlapping Deprivation Analyses, is another potential resource for a child-focused MPI that could monitor progress across time and space (Roche, 2013).
References
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Additional information
Proposes a refined multi-dimensional poverty index (MPI 2.0), as a headline indicator, incorporating inequality, intensity of deprivation, and lack of participation
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Alkire, S., Sumner, A. Multidimensional Poverty and the Post-2015 MDGs. Development 56, 46–51 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1057/dev.2013.6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/dev.2013.6