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Toward better global poverty measures

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Abstract

While much progress has been made over the last 25 years in measuring global poverty, there are a number of challenges ahead. The paper discusses three sets of problems: (i) how to allow for social effects on welfare, recognizing the identification issues involved; (ii) the need to monitor progress in raising the consumption floor above its biological level, in addition to counting the number of people living near the floor; and (iii) addressing the longstanding concerns about prevailing approaches to making inter-country comparisons of price levels facing poor people. Some suggestions are offered for operational solutions, building on past research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 20057, USA

    Martin Ravallion

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  1. Martin Ravallion
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Correspondence to Martin Ravallion.

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Ravallion, M. Toward better global poverty measures. J Econ Inequal 14, 227–248 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10888-016-9323-9

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