Multidimensional Poverty Index

Multidimensional poverty index

The MPI measures poverty on a person-by-person basis. The global MPI classifies a person as ‘MPI poor’ if they are deficient in a third or so of ten (weighted) indicators. The proportion of deprivations people are suffering is also used to determine the amount – or severity – of their poverty.The global MPI could be used to formulate a better image of poor people by showing who’s really poor and why they are poor. It allows for comparisons among nations and world regions, as well as comparisons within nations by ethnicity, metropolitan environment, sub – national area, and age range, as well as other important household and community variables.

As a result, the MPI and its associated data platform are essential as an analytical tool for identifying the most disadvantaged people – poorest among the poor – and illuminating income trends within countries over time, allowing policymakers to better target resources and devise policies.

OPHI collaborated with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) to create the global MPI, which was included in UNDP’s flagship Human Development Report in 2010. Since then, it’s been published annually by OPI and included in the HDRs.

The summary poverty statistic for a specific population using a variety of variables, with a larger figure indicating a greater level of poverty can be calculated using The Alkire and Foster Counting Method. Following rising criticisms of monetary and consumption-based poverty metrics, the technique was developed in order to capture deprivations in non-monetary elements that contribute to well-being. While a ‘Global MPI’ uses a standardized range of metrics, dimensions, cut-offs, and thresholds, the approach is adaptable, and there are several examples of impoverished studies that adapt it to their own circumstances. The approach has primarily been used in underdeveloped countries, although not entirely.

India’s rank in global multidimensional poverty index

India is ranked 66th out of 109 countries in the Global MPI 2021. The National MPI aims to deconstruct the Global MPI and create a globally aligned but customised India MPI for developing comprehensive Reform Action Plans, with the overall goal of improving India’s place in the Global MPI rankings.Health, literacy, and living standards are the three equally weighted dimensions.Food, school enrollment, years of education, water supplies, hygiene, housing, and bank accounts are only a few of the metrics that illustrate these three dimensions.

Niti Aayog Multidimensional Poverty Index

A country’s national MPI statistic is adapted to its priorities, therefore countries select their unique comprehensive framework, indicators, weights, and cut-offs based on their plans and circumstances (OPHI, 2019). National MPIs are fragmented by sub – national areas, urban or rural regions, maturity level, and other factors.They are also usually reported with the indicator-by-indicator breakdown and deconstruction. These details can be used to direct and evaluate government legislation including such budget allocation, intervention targeting, and cross-sector policy coordination.Although it may appear that determining poverty levels predicated on deprivation in any indicator is preferable, previous MPIs have discovered significant anomalies in using only each deprivation, partly due to cultural and climatic diversity, and partly due to the scale of these degradations varying widely. In a country like India, determining levels of poverty based on a single deprivation would culminate in poverty levels above 90%, thereby hiding significant progress in one or more sectors and incentivising political action.

Conclusion

Poverty is defined as a lack of money in most places throughout the world. The impoverished, on the other hand, think of poverty in a far broader sense. A poor individual may have many disadvantages at the same time, such as poor health or hunger, a shortage of clean water or power, low employment quality, or a lack of education. The entire reality of poverty cannot be captured by focusing solely on one component, such as money.