Poverty is Multidimensional: But Do We Really Need a Multidimensional Poverty Index?

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This study examines the various issues regarding the production of a multidimensional poverty index (MPI), from the choice of the underlying indicators for the index, the weights assigned to the indicators, as well as the aggregation process. It also reviews measurements on quality of life (happiness and well-being), poverty and welfare (including multidimensional poverty), and on sustainable development. It examines various possibilities of an MPI for the Philippines based on several waves of household surveys (viz., the National Demographic and Health Survey, the Annual Poverty Indicator Survey, and the Family Income and Expenditure Survey) and several approaches on choices of indicators and weights. This paper also looks at the robustness of trends in the resulting MPI approaches, and some policy issues attendant to the measurement of multidimensional poverty, especially on its relationship with traditional income poverty measurement.