UNU-WIDER launches a special issue of the Journal of Economic Inequality: ‘Measuring Poverty over Time”.
The six studies in this special journal issue take an inter-temporal perspective on poverty measurement. They were first presented at the UNU-WIDER conference on ‘Frontiers of Poverty Analysis’, in September 2008 in Helsinki, and have since been extensively revised and polished following feedback from the audience and academic peer review.
Alongside improvements to the quantity and quality of data, there have also been significant advances in conceptualizing and measuring poverty. One noticeable shift is the movement away from an exclusive focus on consumption-poverty, with attention now often also given to non-income dimensions of wellbeing, such as literacy achievements, nutritional health status, and individual empowerment. This has led to lengthy debate concerning the way in which various dimensions of wellbeing are best combined into a single multidimensional poverty measure
It is clear that a more complete understanding of poverty requires much more attention to the time dimension. As the studies illustrate, it is also clear that many theoretical and practical questions remain unresolved in measuring poverty over time, offering many fascinating opportunities for further investigation.
This presentation will be available on-line in real-time; virtual participants please register here for the event.
If you are interested in attending in person from outside the World Bank, please send an email to lramanankasina(at)worldbank.org with your full name and organization/affiliation.
Source: UNU Wider
Interested in learning more about poverty inequality and poverty measurement please refer to the following IPC-IG publications:
Global Poverty Measurement: A Reassessment
Rethinking Global Poverty Measurement
Snakes and Ladders, Buffers and Passports: Rethinking Poverty, Vulnerability and Wellbeing
The Vast Majority Income (VMI): A New Measure of Global Inequality
