Sabina Alkire (University of Oxford)
Jose Manuel Roche (University of Oxford)
Maria Emma Santos (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas – CONICET)
Suman Seth (University of Oxford)

Multidimensional Poverty Index: New results, time comparisons and group disparities

This paper presents updated estimates of the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) which will be released in November 2011, covering 111 developing countries. Following the Alkire and Foster methodology, the MPI comprises the proportion of the multidimensionally poor with the intensity of their poverty. The MPI considers three dimensions – Education, Health and Standard of Living, using ten indicators. The figures have been updated in light of new available household surveys in 2011. The paper provides new results for 22 countries, of which 15 correspond to more recent estimates for countries considered in 2010. In some of those cases, the estimates are comparable across time, so we are able to provide some additional analysis of poverty trends. The paper presents further MPI decompositions by geographical level and social groups reflecting the significant within country disparities. Furthermore, it analyses in more depth the environmental indicators of the MPI, and the relationship between MPI-poor people and other dimensions not directly included in the index. Finally a range of robustness analysis is conducted.

Keywords: Poverty Measurement, Multidimensional Poverty, Capability Approach, Multidimensional Welfare, Human Development, HDI, HPI.