Abstract:
The fad that different studies seeking to measure poverty in a given
country often give differing results, although they apparently use the same
method and same data source, has long disconcerted both experts in the field
and the public in general. Such differences regarding poverty incidences reduce
the credibility and technical reliability of these measurements, shed doubts on
estimates of the level and evolution of poverty, and hinders inter-temporal
comparisons. That is why it is important to foster greater consensus among
researchers regarding the criteria and procedure to be used, with a view to
progressing towards a common pattern, which will make the measurements more
consistent and homogeneous, and guarantee their effective comparability. This
policy paper provides a recommended strategy for estimating an absolute poverty
line using household survey data of the years 1987-88, 1996-97 and 1998.
