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Subjective poverty

A multi-dimensional approach to subjective poverty

Ask the poor about poverty: a subjective multidimensional concept of poverty

Authors: B. Van Praag; A. Ferrer-i-Carbonell
Publisher: University of Amsterdam, 2006

Conventional definitions of poverty describe it as an economic condition. Contrarily, this paper describes poverty as comprising of subjective and multi-dimensional elements. Authors address two key issues in policy-oriented poverty research:

  • poverty as an individual feeling, rather than an objective status
  • poverty as comprising of several domains of life where being poor in one domain increases the probability of being poor in another
Key findings include:
  • any kind of subjective poverty can be defined using the life domain concept
  • subjective feelings of poverty can be explained by measurable objective variables
  • poverty can be measured without an explanatory variable
  • satisfaction questions can be answered by almost any individual and can ask about intangibles determinants of poverty