This book shows that poverty is multidimensional and hence needs to be analyzed from a multidisciplinary point of view, which has to include economic, sociological, psychological, anthropological, philosophical, legal and evolutionary perspectives. It also presents the new ideas on poverty analysis that have become very popular in recent years - the participatory approach, the concept of empowerment, the notion of vulnerability and the distinction between chronic and transient poverty.

This book is written in the light of the latest developments in the field of multidimensional poverty measurement. It includes clear presentations of more than a dozen different quantitative techniques based respectively on information or fuzzy sets theory, the Rasch model, Factor, Cluster and Multiple Correspondence Analysis, MIMIC and structural equations models, efficiency analysis, axiomatic, subjective and ordinal approaches to the topic. The book provides empirical illustrations based on data sources from developed or developing countries.

This book is written in light of the latest developments in the field of multidimensional poverty measurement. It includes clear presentations of more than a dozen different quantitative techniques and provides empirical illustrations based on data sources from developed or developing countries.

With representatives from different disciplines stressing the central importance of freedom in analyzing poverty and emphasizing some important policy issues, this book offers a view of poverty that will orient research in directions previously neglected, and help those in charge of implementing poverty reduction policies.