A Guidance Note Empowered lives. Resilient nations. Leaving poverty behind – Using multidimensional poverty measures to tackle poverty and achieve the SDGs in Asia and the Pacific A Guidance Note Empowered lives. Resilient nations. Leaving poverty behind – Using multidimensional poverty measures to tackle poverty and achieve the SDGs in Asia and the Pacific A Guidance Note Leaving poverty behind: using multidimensional poverty measures to tackle poverty and achieve the SDGs in Asia and the Pacific This is the second in a series of two reports prepared to support UNDP country offices in Asia and the Pacific in their efforts to end poverty in all its forms, everywhere. The first report takes stock of the calculation and use of multidimensional poverty measures in countries of the region. This accompanying guidance note backs the practical application of multidimensional poverty measures as a policy tool. ISBN: 978-974-680-433-2 Author: Bishwa Nath Tiwari, UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub Editing: Gretchen Luchsinger Design: www.minhdesigns.com Published by: United Nations Development Programme Bangkok Regional Hub 3rd Floor, United Nations Service Building Rajdamnern Nok Avenue, Bangkok 10200, Thailand. Email: [email protected] Tel: +66 (0)2 304-9100 Fax: +66 (0)2 280-2700 Copyright © UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub, 2020 Disclaimer: The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations, including the United Nations Development Programme or UN Member States. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this report for educational or other non-commercial purposes are authorized without prior written permission from the copyright holder, provided that the source is fully acknowledged. iv Contents – Lists of Figures and Boxes vi 1.3 Coordinating policies across sectors and levels of government 15 Acknowledgements vii 1.4 Developing multisectoral Acronyms viii programmes that reflect interconnected deprivations 15 Part I Background of 1.5 Tracking SDG target 1.2 on Multidimensional Poverty halving poverty in all its forms 15 Measurement and Applications 1 1.6 Informing resource allocation at the subnational level 16 What is multidimensional poverty? 1 2. Measuring multidimensional poverty Multidimensional poverty and from a census survey for targeting and the SDGs 4 tracking deprivations at local level 16 What is the Multidimensional 2.1 Targeting at the lower level of Poverty Index? 5 administrative units 16 Deprivations in Asia and the Pacific: 2.2 Targeting at the household Who has been left behind and why? 8 and individual levels for the How can multidimensional poverty effective implementation of measures help in ending poverty? 9 social protection 17 Development of a management Part II Multidimensional information system 19 poverty measures as policy Communication and advocacy 19 tools—fostering uses in Asia Institutional framework 20 and the Pacific 11 Conclusion 20 Current applications of References 22 multidimensional poverty measures 11 How to promote the uses of Endnotes 25 multidimensional poverty measures 14 1. Continue measuring the national MPI using national household surveys 14 1.1 Complementing income-based poverty measures 14 1.2 Setting national goals and targets 15 v Lists of Figures and Boxes – Figures Figure 1: Overview of the uses of multidimensional poverty measures 12 Figure 2: Identifying and monitoring deprived households 18 Boxes Box 1: Well-being and poverty have many aspects 2 Box 2: Counting approaches: the Alkire-Foster method as a prominent measure of multidimensional poverty 4 Box 3: Asia and the Pacific—home of half of the multidimensionally poor people 7 Box 4: The DHS and MICS sample designs provide robust MPI estimates at higher levels of administrative units 13 vi Acknowledgements – This guidance note was commissioned Valuable inputs and insights came from by UNDP and produced by the UNDP Sabina Alkire, Director of the OPHI, and Bangkok Regional Hub, Inclusive Growth Pedro Conceicao, Director of UNDP’s Team. It was written by Bishwa Nath Human Development Report Office in Tiwari. New York. At the UNDP Bureau for Policy and Programme Support in New York, The guidance note draws on previous Mansour Ndiaye, Renata Rubian and reports, including the Review of MPI Serge Kapto helped in sharing useful Measurement and Uses in Asia and information and in liaising with relevant the Pacific, produced by the UNDP colleagues from other bureaus. Bangkok Regional Hub, and How to Build a National Multidimensional Poverty A note of appreciation goes to Balazs Index, prepared by UNDP and the Oxford Horvath for a peer review of the report, Poverty and Human Development and to Scott Standley, Hannie Meesters, Initiative (OPHI). James Chaco and Jaco Cilliers from the Bangkok Regional Hub for their oversight The document benefited from reviews and support. and valuable inputs from colleagues in UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Asia and Cedric Monteiro and Mahtab Haider from the Pacific Economist Network, including the Bangkok Regional Hub have been Balazs Horvath (UNDP China), Matthew kind enough to review the guidance note Johnson-Idan (Pacific Office), Richard and develop communications briefs to Marshall (UNDP Cambodia), Swastik Das promote it. Szewun Tong, a UN Volunteer, (UNDP India), Tandin Wangchuk (UNDP supported a review of literature. Bhutan), Haniza Khalid (UNDP Malaysia) and Rima Artha (UNDP Indonesia). Thanks are due to Phatsaraphorn Champasri from the Inclusive Growth Outside the region, valuable comments Team of the Bangkok Regional Hub, who were received from Ivan Gonzalez de supported the procurement of services Alba in the Regional Bureau for Latin for editing and publishing the document, America and the Caribbean, Mihail and to Supaporn Tampirak, who assisted Peleah in the Regional Bureau for Europe in ensuring the quality of the report, and Central Asia, and Elena Danilova- including through organizing a peer Cross at UNDP’s Istanbul Regional Hub. review. vii Acronyms – DHS Demographic and Health Survey GDP Gross domestic product MICS Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey MPI Multidimensional Poverty Index MPPN Multidimensional Poverty Peer Network OPHI Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative PPP Purchasing power parity SDGs Sustainable Development Goals UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund viii Part I – Background of Multidimensional Poverty Measurement and Applications What is income continues to be a widely used measure of poverty, it cannot capture multidimensional the full spectrum of deprivations poverty? that make people poor. Monetary measures are therefore not enough to guide policies to eradicate poverty as Poverty is a complex, multidimensional envisaged by Sustainable Development phenomenon encompassing both Goal (SDG) 1, on ending all forms of income and non-income deprivations. poverty everywhere, or to contribute Apart from the paucity of income, to the achievement of all other SDGs. various non-income deprivations that The goals require a multidimensional can affect people’s well-being include approach that includes non-income inadequate education, lack of health deprivations. care, low-quality housing, lack of water and sanitation, or work in a hazardous There are at least three reasons to environment, among others. Although use a multidimensional approach to 1 measuring poverty. First, poverty and At the international level, the Stiglitz- well-being are multidimensional. This Sen-Fitoussi Commission in 2008 reality has been increasingly accepted and the Atkinson Commission in 2016 both nationally and internationally. described well-being and poverty At the national level, the happiness as multidimensional (Box 1). The approach, with multiple dimensions and latter recommended that the global indicators, has advanced in countries Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) like Bhutan and been endorsed by the be used to complement the income United Nations General Assembly.1 poverty line of US $1.90 per day New Zealand’s move towards a new (purchasing power parity or PPP). “well-being budget” that emphasizes citizen well-being over economic A second important reason to use growth is another noteworthy effort.2 a multidimensional approach is the commitment to the SDGs. With the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Box 1: Well-being and poverty have many aspects The Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi Commission Later, the Atkinson Commission constituted by former French created by the World Bank argued President Nicolas Sarkozy held that that poverty is multidimensional well-being is multidimensional. and suggested a non-monetary Based on academic research and a multidimensional poverty measure number of concrete initiatives, the covering the following dimensions: Commission identified the following nutrition, health status, education, key dimensions that should be housing conditions, access to taken into account: material living work and personal security. The standards (income, consumption Commission also recommended and wealth), health, education, complementing income poverty personal activities including work, measures with a global MPI. The political voice and governance, World Bank subsequently accepted social connections and relationships, some of the recommendations of environmental conditions (present the Atkinson Commission. and future), and economic as well as physical insecurity. Source: Stiglitz et al. 2009, World Bank 2017. 2 Sustainable Development at the United context. To distinguish