A comparison between unidimensional and multidimensional approaches to the measurement of poverty

Michele Costa

Research output: Working paper

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Abstract

The paper presents a comparison between an unidimensional approach to the measurement of poverty, obtained as a function of observable income, and a multidimensional approach, defined on the basis of economic, social, demographic and cultural indicators. The comparison is carried out by means of rank correlation analysis, which stresses how the two approaches indicate the presence of two different sets of poor households. An analysis performed on 12 European countries shows that income based evaluation provides only partial insights on poverty condition.
Original languageEnglish
PublisherCEPS/INSTEAD
Number of pages26
Publication statusPublished - 2003
Externally publishedYes

Publication series

NameIRISS Working Papers
PublisherCEPS/INSTEAD
No.2003-02

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