The Economist explains

How to measure poverty

Counting the poor is the first step towards alleviating their plight

A gravel crusher carries her child on her back among slabs and smaller stones near the Cite International des Affaires in N'Djamena, on April 12, 2021. - In the heart of N'Djamena, the capital of Chad, dozens of women surrounded by a swarm of ragged and often skeletal children, along a road or on a huge adjacent vacant lot, without a single shaded point, crush concrete, cement or brick blocks twelve hours a day. (Photo by MARCO LONGARI / AFP) (Photo by MARCO LONGARI/AFP via Getty Images)
Image: AFP

ERADICATING POVERTY in all its forms is the first of the UN’s 17 development goals. It is also a priority for many countries. To succeed, multilateral organisations and national governments need good policy—and a way to track their progress. So how should they define and measure poverty?

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From the April 15th 2023 edition

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