ST/ESA/STAT/POVERTY/WWW
1 January 2006

Handbook on Poverty Statistics:
Concepts, Methods and Policy Use

Chapter 6.

Statistical Issues in Measuring Poverty from Non-household Survey Sources

This chapter deals with certain limitations of household surveys for gathering data relating to all the dimensions of poverty and where poor people can be found. It reviews the relevance of various administrative and non-household survey sources for filling in the gaps and for amplifying existing survey data on poverty in the context of the Millennium Development Goals. The means of obtaining alternative subjective perspectives on the nature of the problems poor people face are also considered.
The Chapter also give due attention to the policy debate surrounding the use of national account for compiling poverty levels. National accounts, while of limited use in direct poverty measurement, are required to link and update household surveys and provide a regular comprehensive perspective. The conceptual and empirical differences between estimates of household consumption based on national accounts versus household surveys are examined and adjustments to be made to reconcile the two estimates are presented.

Chapter 6