Diamonds in the Rough? : Repurposing Multi-Topic Surveys to Estimate Individual-Level Consumption Poverty

Traditional per capita measures of poverty assign the same poverty status to individuals living in the same household and overlook differences in living standards within households. There has been a long-standing need for a tool that enables povert...

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Main Authors: Bose-Duker, Theophiline, Gaddis, Isis, Kilic, Talip, Lechene, Valérie, Pendakur, Krishna
Format: Working Paper
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/354631620913886186/Diamonds-in-the-Rough-Repurposing-Multi-Topic-Surveys-to-Estimate-Individual-Level-Consumption-Poverty
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35608
id okr-10986-35608
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-356082022-09-20T00:09:51Z Diamonds in the Rough? : Repurposing Multi-Topic Surveys to Estimate Individual-Level Consumption Poverty Bose-Duker, Theophiline Gaddis, Isis Kilic, Talip Lechene, Valérie Pendakur, Krishna POVERTY INTRAHOUSEHOLD ALLOCATION GENDER CONSUMPTION Traditional per capita measures of poverty assign the same poverty status to individuals living in the same household and overlook differences in living standards within households. There has been a long-standing need for a tool that enables poverty measurement at the individual level, while avoiding overly complex estimation techniques and, if possible, using readily available household survey data. An ordinary least squares–based strategy was recently introduced to estimate individual resource shares. This paper presents the theory behind this approach in an accessible fashion for those interested in individual-level consumption poverty measurement using existing household survey data. The strategy’s assumptions are compared with the assumptions of the prevailing per capita approach to deriving poverty estimates. The empirical analysis presents competing individual-level poverty estimates in four diverse countries under the individual resource shares strategy versus the per capita approach. The results suggest that poverty is underestimated under the per capita approach. There is further evidence that women may be poorer than men, and that children and the elderly are disproportionately affected by poverty. However, the pursuit of the individual resource shares approach reveals cross-country heterogeneity in the extent of increase in headcount poverty estimates, and in the direction of change in headcount poverty estimates for men and women. The paper concludes with suggestions for further methodological research in this area. 2021-05-20T13:49:32Z 2021-05-20T13:49:32Z 2021-05 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/354631620913886186/Diamonds-in-the-Rough-Repurposing-Multi-Topic-Surveys-to-Estimate-Individual-Level-Consumption-Poverty http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35608 English Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9661 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic POVERTY
INTRAHOUSEHOLD ALLOCATION
GENDER
CONSUMPTION
spellingShingle POVERTY
INTRAHOUSEHOLD ALLOCATION
GENDER
CONSUMPTION
Bose-Duker, Theophiline
Gaddis, Isis
Kilic, Talip
Lechene, Valérie
Pendakur, Krishna
Diamonds in the Rough? : Repurposing Multi-Topic Surveys to Estimate Individual-Level Consumption Poverty
relation Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9661
description Traditional per capita measures of poverty assign the same poverty status to individuals living in the same household and overlook differences in living standards within households. There has been a long-standing need for a tool that enables poverty measurement at the individual level, while avoiding overly complex estimation techniques and, if possible, using readily available household survey data. An ordinary least squares–based strategy was recently introduced to estimate individual resource shares. This paper presents the theory behind this approach in an accessible fashion for those interested in individual-level consumption poverty measurement using existing household survey data. The strategy’s assumptions are compared with the assumptions of the prevailing per capita approach to deriving poverty estimates. The empirical analysis presents competing individual-level poverty estimates in four diverse countries under the individual resource shares strategy versus the per capita approach. The results suggest that poverty is underestimated under the per capita approach. There is further evidence that women may be poorer than men, and that children and the elderly are disproportionately affected by poverty. However, the pursuit of the individual resource shares approach reveals cross-country heterogeneity in the extent of increase in headcount poverty estimates, and in the direction of change in headcount poverty estimates for men and women. The paper concludes with suggestions for further methodological research in this area.
format Working Paper
author Bose-Duker, Theophiline
Gaddis, Isis
Kilic, Talip
Lechene, Valérie
Pendakur, Krishna
author_facet Bose-Duker, Theophiline
Gaddis, Isis
Kilic, Talip
Lechene, Valérie
Pendakur, Krishna
author_sort Bose-Duker, Theophiline
title Diamonds in the Rough? : Repurposing Multi-Topic Surveys to Estimate Individual-Level Consumption Poverty
title_short Diamonds in the Rough? : Repurposing Multi-Topic Surveys to Estimate Individual-Level Consumption Poverty
title_full Diamonds in the Rough? : Repurposing Multi-Topic Surveys to Estimate Individual-Level Consumption Poverty
title_fullStr Diamonds in the Rough? : Repurposing Multi-Topic Surveys to Estimate Individual-Level Consumption Poverty
title_full_unstemmed Diamonds in the Rough? : Repurposing Multi-Topic Surveys to Estimate Individual-Level Consumption Poverty
title_sort diamonds in the rough? : repurposing multi-topic surveys to estimate individual-level consumption poverty
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2021
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/354631620913886186/Diamonds-in-the-Rough-Repurposing-Multi-Topic-Surveys-to-Estimate-Individual-Level-Consumption-Poverty
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35608
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