Toward a Third Stage in the Measurement of Poverty

Abstract

While there has been considerable development in the concept of poverty during this century, and in particular during the last couple of decades, the method of measurement remains essentially unchanged. On the theoretical side, a relative deprivation concept of poverty has been developed in addition to or as an alternative to the conventional subsistence minimum concept, but on the measurement side, the most important tool is the income poverty line irrespective of what concept is applied, the only difference being at what level the poverty line is set. In distribution research in general, there have long been warnings against using income alone as an indicator of welfare, and methods have been developed for measuring consumption or living conditions directly, but poverty research has continued to use the indirect income method. This paper suggests that there is a need for an alternative method of measuring poverty which corresponds to the 'modern' con ceptualization of the problem and indicates how such a method can be developed by integrating lessons from living conditions research into poverty research.