Starting this month, the World Bank has started reporting poverty rates
for all countries using two new international poverty lines: a lower
middle-income line, set at $3.20 per day, and an upper middle-income
line, set at $5.50 per day.
These are in addition to the main poverty line of $1.90 per day.
The new lines are supposed to serve two purposes.
One, they account for the fact that “achieving the same set of capabilities may need a different set of goods and services in different countries” and, specifically, a costlier set in richer countries.
Second, “they allow for cross-country comparisons and benchmarking both within and across developing regions”.
Using the $1.90 line, the incidence of poverty in lower middle-income countries is 15.5%, as against 45.8% in low-income countries.
However, using the $3.20 line, 46.7% of the population of lower middle-income countries is poor.
Similarly, for upper middle-income countries, the proportion of the poor at $1.90 is just 2.3%, but at $ 5.50 it is 29.2%.
These are in addition to the main poverty line of $1.90 per day.
The new lines are supposed to serve two purposes.
One, they account for the fact that “achieving the same set of capabilities may need a different set of goods and services in different countries” and, specifically, a costlier set in richer countries.
Second, “they allow for cross-country comparisons and benchmarking both within and across developing regions”.
Using the $1.90 line, the incidence of poverty in lower middle-income countries is 15.5%, as against 45.8% in low-income countries.
However, using the $3.20 line, 46.7% of the population of lower middle-income countries is poor.
Similarly, for upper middle-income countries, the proportion of the poor at $1.90 is just 2.3%, but at $ 5.50 it is 29.2%.
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