A novel approach to measure poverty based on calorie deprivation - Evidence from household-level data

Kalyani Mangalika Lakmini Rathu Manannalage (), Shyama Ratnasiri () and Andreas Chai ()
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Kalyani Mangalika Lakmini Rathu Manannalage: Griffith University
Shyama Ratnasiri: Griffith University
Andreas Chai: Griffith University

The Journal of Economic Inequality, 2023, vol. 21, issue 4, No 5, 867-897

Abstract: Abstract While many alternative poverty measures have been found in the development literature based on income, consumption, or combinations of the two, direct consumption-based measures are rarely found. This study develops a consumption-based deprivation index to measure poverty using household-level calorie consumption data from Sri Lanka. As cereal consumption forms a significant share of the diet in many developing countries, deprivation is measured as the average shortfall from the population's saturation level of cereal calorie consumption. The results show that expenditure-based deprivation measures tend to overestimate consumption-based calorie deprivation. This study also found that there has been a slow decline in calorie deprivation compared to traditional poverty estimates from 2006 to 2016 in Sri Lanka. Further, the results revealed notable differences in calorie deprivation by gender, ethnicity, education, occupation, and income group of the head of the household and by sub-national location of the household. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into understanding calorie deprivation and suggests direct intervention strategies in Sri Lanka and other developing countries.

Keywords: Poverty; Calorie deprivation; Saturation level; Developing countries; Sri Lanka (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1007/s10888-023-09576-8

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