LES conducts seminar on Poverty Measurement
Lucas Economics Society conducted a Seminar on “Poverty Measurement” on 11 December 2017 from 11am to 2 pm, in E-201. The seminar was led by an esteemed professor from department of economics, Dr Fowad Mustafa. It was specially organized for MPhil students however everyone interested to attend was welcomed.
The seminar mainly revolved around the topics, “what is poverty?” and “In what terms can poverty be measured?”
It was discussed that how poverty is multidimensional concept and cannot be described merely in the terms of inadequate income. Various reasons that cause poverty were established:
- Lack of opportunities
- Capabilities
- Vulnerability to external shocks
The real question to be focused upon was “who is poor?” Defining poverty is not an easy task as there is no consensus on a single poverty measurement or methodology. Every poverty measurement approach that we consider makes compromise on many things. Poverty measurement is based on the best approximation.
The method of measuring poverty in Pakistan was also discussed. The six steps used for poverty measurement are:
- Data Source
- Indicator of well being
- Unit of analysis
- Selection and calculation of poverty line
- Poverty Indexes
- Checking the robustness
Each process was further analyzed and described such as the calculation of poverty line.
Poverty line Calculation:
- Cost of basic needs
- Food energy intake
- Direct Caloric intake
To conclude the seminar an interactive question and answer session was carried out after which refreshments were offered.
The seminar proved out to be highly informational and knowledge enhancing. Such seminars should be conducted more often as they are extremely beneficial for the student body.
