Why is the MPI headcount (much) higher than national poverty estimates in some countries?
The MPI, like the $1.25/day line, is a globally comparable measure of poverty. It measures acute multidimensional poverty, and only includes indicators that are available for many countries. National poverty measures are typically monetary measures, and thus capture something different. The fact that there are differences does not mean that the national poverty number, or the MPI headcount is wrong – these simply measure different conceptions of poverty. At the same time, just as national poverty measures, in contrast, are designed to reflect the national situation more accurately and often differ in very useful ways from the $1.25 measure, some countries may wish to build a national multidimensional poverty index that is tailored to their context, to complement this international MPI.
Related Questions
- Why does national data for the MPI date from so many different years? Isn’t it unfair to compare countries if the statistics in one case are five years older than in another?
- Why are there such wide discrepancies between MPI poverty estimates and $1.25/day poverty estimates in so many countries?
- Why are 2010 MPI estimates only available for 104 countries?
