Multidimensional Poverty in Malaysia : Improving Measurement and Policies in the 2020s
It has long been recognized that poverty is multidimensional, comprising not only insufficient income but also deprivations in access to basic services, the quality of living conditions, personal security, and other aspects of well-being. Since 201...
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Kuala Lumpur
2021
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/undefined/965601634114391721/Multidimensional-Poverty-in-Malaysia-Improving-Measurement-and-Policies-in-the-2020s http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36541 |
| Summary: | It has long been recognized that
poverty is multidimensional, comprising not only
insufficient income but also deprivations in access to basic
services, the quality of living conditions, personal
security, and other aspects of well-being. Since 2010 there
has been rapid growth in the development and use of
quantitative measures of multidimensional poverty. This
paper analyzes the construction and use of the
Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) in Malaysia, which the
Malaysian government introduced in its national development
plan for 2015–2020. It examines avenues for improving the
relevance of the MPI in policy discourse by setting
deprivation thresholds of the various MPI dimensions
(health, education, living conditions, income) at levels
more appropriate for an upper-middle-income country such as
Malaysia. Recent national survey data are used to estimate
the quantitative impact of incrementally adjusting the
thresholds of indicators in the current MPI. The potential
for new indicators is also explored, drawing from the MPIs
used in other middle- and high-income countries. The role of
the MPI for informing and monitoring anti-poverty policies
is discussed, focusing on unpacking the dimensions of
poverty embedded in the MPI, so that policies are better
matched to the deprivations observed. |
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