TY - CHAP

T1 - Synthesis

AU - Arndt, Channing

AU - Mahrt, Kristi

AU - Tarp, Finn

PY - 2017

Y1 - 2017

N2 - This synthesis chapter seeks to draw general lessons from the case studies presented in the book. It does not include a review or summary of each chapter. Instead, we revert to themes that emerged from earlier in the book. Specifically, we argue that appropriately assessing living standards is challenging, and focus on the different nature of the challenges for consumption poverty line estimation and multidimensional poverty measurement. The six case studies uniformly indicate that the process of drawing appropriate absolute poverty lines is not straightforward and cannot be done mechanically. This is so principally due to five key factors: heterogeneity, volatility, vulnerability, data, and theory. The first three factors are usefully grouped together. In all of the case countries considered, poor people are heterogeneous, frequently live in environments with strikingly high levels of volatility, and are, almost by definition, vulnerable to shocks.

AB - This synthesis chapter seeks to draw general lessons from the case studies presented in the book. It does not include a review or summary of each chapter. Instead, we revert to themes that emerged from earlier in the book. Specifically, we argue that appropriately assessing living standards is challenging, and focus on the different nature of the challenges for consumption poverty line estimation and multidimensional poverty measurement. The six case studies uniformly indicate that the process of drawing appropriate absolute poverty lines is not straightforward and cannot be done mechanically. This is so principally due to five key factors: heterogeneity, volatility, vulnerability, data, and theory. The first three factors are usefully grouped together. In all of the case countries considered, poor people are heterogeneous, frequently live in environments with strikingly high levels of volatility, and are, almost by definition, vulnerable to shocks.

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - living standards

KW - consumption poverty estimation

KW - absolute poverty lines

KW - multidimensional poverty measurement

KW - first-order dominance

U2 - 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198744801.003.0016

DO - 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198744801.003.0016

M3 - Book chapter

SN - 9780198744801

SP - 269

EP - 273

BT - Measuring Poverty and Wellbeing in Developing Countries

A2 - Arndt, Channing

A2 - Tarp, Finn

PB - Oxford University Press

ER -