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Subective poverty line definitions

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Summary

In this paper we will deal with definitions ofsubjective poverty lines. To measure a poverty threshold value in terms of household income, which separates the poor from the non-poor, we take into account the opinions of all people in society. Three subjective methods will be discussed and compared,viz., the Leyden Poverty Line (LPL), the Subjective Poverty Line (SPL) and the Centre for Social Policy Poverty Line (CSP). In the empirical part of the paper we compute the average poverty line and a few corresponding characteristics for each definition.

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Flik, R.J., van Praag, B.M.S. Subective poverty line definitions. De Economist 139, 311–330 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01423569

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