Endogenous weights and multidimensional poverty: A cautionary tale
Composite measures such as multidimensional poverty indices depend crucially on the weights assigned to the different dimensions and their indicators. A recent strand of the literature uses endogenous weights, determined by the data at hand, to compute poverty scores. Notwithstanding their merits, w...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Working paper |
| Language: | English |
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Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative
2021
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| _version_ | 1797100062537416704 |
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| author | Dutta, I Nogales, R Yalonetzky, G |
| author_facet | Dutta, I Nogales, R Yalonetzky, G |
| author_sort | Dutta, I |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Composite measures such as multidimensional poverty indices depend crucially on the weights assigned to the different dimensions and their indicators. A recent strand of the literature uses endogenous weights, determined by the data at hand, to compute poverty scores. Notwithstanding their merits, we demonstrate both analytically and empirically how a broad class of endogenous weights violates key properties of multidimensional poverty indices such as monotonicity and subgroup consistency. Without these properties, anti-poverty policy targeting and assessments are bound to be seriously compromised. Using real-life data from Ecuador and Uganda, we show that these violations are widespread. Hence, one should be extremely careful when using endogenous weights in measuring poverty. Our results naturally extend to other welfare measures based on binary indicators, such as the widely studied asset indices. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T05:32:27Z |
| format | Working paper |
| id | oxford-uuid:e2ba0ae0-705f-4103-a027-8befc3cefdd9 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T05:32:27Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:e2ba0ae0-705f-4103-a027-8befc3cefdd92022-03-27T10:03:34ZEndogenous weights and multidimensional poverty: A cautionary taleWorking paperhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_8042uuid:e2ba0ae0-705f-4103-a027-8befc3cefdd9EnglishSymplectic ElementsOxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative2021Dutta, INogales, RYalonetzky, GComposite measures such as multidimensional poverty indices depend crucially on the weights assigned to the different dimensions and their indicators. A recent strand of the literature uses endogenous weights, determined by the data at hand, to compute poverty scores. Notwithstanding their merits, we demonstrate both analytically and empirically how a broad class of endogenous weights violates key properties of multidimensional poverty indices such as monotonicity and subgroup consistency. Without these properties, anti-poverty policy targeting and assessments are bound to be seriously compromised. Using real-life data from Ecuador and Uganda, we show that these violations are widespread. Hence, one should be extremely careful when using endogenous weights in measuring poverty. Our results naturally extend to other welfare measures based on binary indicators, such as the widely studied asset indices. |
| spellingShingle | Dutta, I Nogales, R Yalonetzky, G Endogenous weights and multidimensional poverty: A cautionary tale |
| title | Endogenous weights and multidimensional poverty: A cautionary tale |
| title_full | Endogenous weights and multidimensional poverty: A cautionary tale |
| title_fullStr | Endogenous weights and multidimensional poverty: A cautionary tale |
| title_full_unstemmed | Endogenous weights and multidimensional poverty: A cautionary tale |
| title_short | Endogenous weights and multidimensional poverty: A cautionary tale |
| title_sort | endogenous weights and multidimensional poverty a cautionary tale |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT duttai endogenousweightsandmultidimensionalpovertyacautionarytale AT nogalesr endogenousweightsandmultidimensionalpovertyacautionarytale AT yalonetzkyg endogenousweightsandmultidimensionalpovertyacautionarytale |