A one minute
guide to the Multidimensional Poverty Index
(Compiled and adapted from http://www.ophi.org.uk/policy/multidimensional-poverty-index/)[1]
Introduction
The MPI is an index of acute multidimensional poverty. It reflects deprivations in very rudimentary services and core human functioning for people across 104 countries. Although deeply constrained by data limitations, MPI reveals a different pattern of poverty than income poverty, as it illuminates a different set of deprivations. The MPI has three dimensions: health, education, and standard of living. These are measured using ten indicators. Poor households are identified and an aggregate measure constructed using the methodology proposed by Alkire and Foster. Each dimension and each indicator within a dimension is equally weighted.
The indicators
1 Education (each indicator is weighted equally at 1/6 )
1.1 Years of Schooling: deprived if no household member has completed five years of schooling
1.2 Child Enrolment: deprived if any school-aged child is not attending school in years 1 to 8
2 Health (each indicator is weighted equally at 1/6)
2.1 Child Mortality: deprived if any child has died in the family
2.2 Nutrition: deprived if any adult or child for whom there is nutritional information is malnourished
3 Standard of Living (each indicator is weighted equally at 1/18)
3.1 Electricity: deprived if the household has no electricity
3.2 Drinking water: deprived if the household does not have access to clean drinking water or clean water is more than 30 minutes walk from home (MDG Definition)
3.3 Sanitation: deprived if they do not have an improved toilet or if their toilet is shared (MDG Definition)
3.4 Flooring: deprived if the household has dirt, sand or dung floor
3.5 Cooking Fuel: deprived if they cook with wood, charcoal or dung
3.6 Assets: deprived if the household does not own more than one of: radio, TV, telephone, bike, or motorbike
Who is multi-dimensionally poor
A household is identified as multi-dimensionally poor if, and only if, it is deprived in some combination of indicators whose weighted sum exceeds 30% of deprivations. To know if a household is multi-dimensionally poor, for each of the above indicators, add 1/6 for health and education or 1/18 for standard of living for a household. If the total is 3/10 (0.3) or more, then that household is classified as multi-dimensionally poor.
Half of the world’s poor as measured
by the MPI live in South Asia (51%, 844 million) and one quarter in
The advantage
The MPI reflects
both the incidence of poverty – the proportion of the population that is
multi-dimensionally poor (H, households) – and the average intensity (A)
of their deprivation – the average proportion of indicators in which they
are deprived. The MPI is calculated by multiplying the incidence of poverty by
the average intensity across the poor (HxA).
The MPI reveals the combination of deprivations suffered by a household at the same time in addition to the intensity. It reveals where exactly the deprivations cluster, making focussed intervention possible. For instance, in a community, they may be quite literate, yet their standard of living might be poor (or vice versa). It enables policy and programmes to be focused. The MPI also reveals great variations within countries.
MPI and India
Despite strong economic growth, MPI
analysis reveals the persistence of acute poverty in
The following table
shows the multidimensional poverty rate (MPI) and its two components for
Multidimensional
Poverty across Indian States[2] |
|||||||
MPI Rank |
States |
Population (million) 2007 |
MPI |
Proportion of poor |
Average intensity |
Contribution to overall poverty |
Number of MPI poor
(million) |
1 |
Kerala |
35 |
0.065 |
15.9% |
40.9% |
0.6% |
5.6 |
2 |
|
1.6 |
0.094 |
21.7% |
43.4% |
0.0% |
0.4 |
3 |
|
27.1 |
0.120 |
26.2% |
46.0% |
1.0% |
7.1 |
4 |
Himachal Pradesh |
6.7 |
0.131 |
31.0% |
42.3% |
0.3% |
2.1 |
5 |
Tamil Nadu |
68 |
0.141 |
32.4% |
43.6% |
2.6% |
22.0 |
6 |
Uttaranchal |
9.6 |
0.189 |
40.3% |
46.9% |
0.5% |
3.9 |
7 |
|
108.7 |
0.193 |
40.1% |
48.1% |
6.0% |
43.6 |
8 |
Haryana |
24.1 |
0.199 |
41.6% |
47.9% |
1.3% |
10.0 |
9 |
|
57.3 |
0.205 |
41.5% |
49.2% |
3.4% |
23.8 |
10 |
|
12.2 |
0.209 |
43.8% |
47.7% |
0.7% |
5.4 |
11 |
Andhra Pradesh |
83.9 |
0.211 |
44.7% |
47.1% |
5.1% |
37.5 |
12 |
Karnataka |
58.6 |
0.223 |
46.1% |
48.3% |
4.2% |
27.0 |
13 |
Eastern Indian States |
44.2 |
0.303 |
57.6% |
52.5% |
4.0% |
25.5 |
14 |
|
89.5 |
0.317 |
58.3% |
54.3% |
8.5% |
52.2 |
15 |
Orissa |
40.7 |
0.345 |
64.0% |
54.0% |
4.3% |
26.0 |
16 |
Rajasthan |
65.4 |
0.351 |
64.2% |
54.7% |
7.0% |
41.9 |
17 |
Uttar Pradesh |
192.6 |
0.386 |
69.9% |
55.2% |
21.3% |
134.7 |
18 |
Chhattisgarh |
23.9 |
0.387 |
71.9% |
53.9% |
2.9% |
17.2 |
19 |
Madhya Pradesh |
70 |
0.389 |
69.5% |
56.0% |
8.5% |
48.6 |
20 |
Jharkhand |
30.5 |
0.463 |
77.0% |
60.2% |
4.2% |
23.5 |
21 |
|
95 |
0.499 |
81.4% |
61.3% |
13.5% |
77.3 |
|
|
1,164.70 |
0.296 |
55.4% |
53.5% |
- |
645.0 |
Within this, there are variations. Multidimensional poverty is highest (81.4%) among Scheduled Tribes, followed by Scheduled Castes (65.8%), Other Backward Classes (58.3%) and others (33.3%).
Breakdown of
Multidimensional Poverty across Hindu Castes and Tribes |
|||
States |
MPI |
Percentage of MPI
Poor |
Average Intensity |
Scheduled Caste |
0.361 |
65.80% |
54.80% |
Scheduled Tribe |
0.482 |
81.40% |
59.20% |
Other Backward Class |
0.305 |
58.30% |
52.30% |
General |
0.157 |
33.30% |
47.20% |
The MPI figures (55%) are in contrast to the the World Bank(42%),[3] N C Saxena(50%) Arjun Sengupta(41%),[4] Tendulkar(37%)[5] and the Planning Commission (27.5%) estimates.
—oO(end of document)Oo—
[1] For more: General: http://www.ophi.org.uk/policy/multidimensional-poverty-index/
; Data:
MPI Data is available at Alkire, Sabina and Maria Emma Santos. 2010.
Multidimensional Poverty Index: 2010 Data.
[2] The calculation includes
[3] The
bank’s poverty line is $1.25. At
[4] 41% below Rs 14.6 per day. Extremely Poor (6.4%, Rs 8.9), Poor (15.4%, Rs
11.6) Marginally Poor (19.0%, Rs 14.6). Vulnerable (36%, Rs 20) Total 77%, 836
million people, below Rs 20 per day. Report On Conditions Of Work And Promotion
Of Livelihoods In The Unorganised Sector: National Commission For Enterprises
In The Unorganised Sector, National Commission For Enterprises In The
Unorganised Sector, Government Of
[5] Overall 37.2%, with
41.8% rural (below Rs 13.8 per day, Rs 446.68 per month) and 25.7% urban (Rs 578.80
per month). Expert Group on Methodology for Estimation of Poverty, Chair Prof.
Suresh D. Tendulkar; http://www.planningcommission.gov.in/eg_poverty.htm