Multidimensional Poverty Index — Definition

Definition

The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) is a comprehensive measure that identifies poverty at the individual level, reflecting the multiple deprivations a person faces simultaneously in health, education, and living standards.

Unlike traditional income-based poverty lines, which often focus solely on monetary resources, the MPI delves deeper into the actual conditions of people's lives. It recognizes that being poor means more than just having a low income; it can also mean lacking access to nutritious food, clean water, proper sanitation, electricity, adequate housing, or not having children enrolled in school.

The MPI uses a dual cutoff method: first, a person is identified as deprived in an indicator if they do not meet a certain threshold (e.g., no household member has completed six years of schooling); second, a person is identified as multidimensionally poor if they are deprived in a certain proportion of weighted indicators (typically one-third or more).

This methodology, developed by Sabina Alkire and James Foster, allows for a nuanced understanding of poverty, revealing not just who is poor, but how they are poor, by identifying the specific deprivations they experience.

This granular data is invaluable for policymakers, enabling them to design targeted interventions that address the root causes of poverty in specific regions or communities. For instance, if a region shows high deprivation in sanitation and cooking fuel, policies like Swachh Bharat Mission or Ujjwala Yojana can be prioritized.

The MPI provides a more holistic picture of human well-being, moving beyond simplistic economic metrics to encompass the broader aspects of human dignity and capability, making it a powerful tool for tracking progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 1 (No Poverty) and other related SDGs.