Rasch Model and Multidimensional Poverty Measurement

Paul Dickes and Alessio Fusco

No 2006-02, IRISS Working Paper Series from IRISS at CEPS/INSTEAD

Abstract: The topic of the multidimensionality of poverty is currently at the heart of many theoretical, empirical and institutional debates in the European Union. Despite this increasing interest, there seems to be no consensus on how to define and measure multidimensional poverty. Two aspects may be considered in measuring poverty: the number of dimensions and the nature of the underlying continuum. The question of the dimensionality of poverty, one versus many dimensions, has to be resolved in applying specific multidimensional methods, like factor analysis, where the one-dimensional solution is a special case of the multidimensional procedure. The question of the nature of the continuum concerns the relationship between the items in each dimension. Two kinds of relationship are considered here: homogeneous and hierarchical. In this paper, the interest of the Rasch model for verifying the hierarchical and cumulative nature of the relationship between the items is underlined. After presenting the main characteristics of the model, and its adjustment for testing poverty, an application confirming the multidimensional nature of poverty is performed on a Luxemburgish dataset (PSELL-3).

Keywords: multidimensional poverty; Rasch model; accumulation of disadvantages (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 23 pages
Date: 2006-07
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (17)

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Chapter: The Rasch Model and Multidimensional Poverty Measurement (2008)
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