OPHI Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative Department of International Development Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford Multidimensional Measurement of Poverty 16 June 2008

Bhutan: Overview

Bhutan: Basic Facts 17 th Century: Emerged as a country. Monarchy until 2008 when the first elections were held, fostered by the last three kings. They have finally become a constitutional monarchy. Gross National Happiness vs. Gross National Product. However, it is a fast growing country: 2000: 7.2% and 2006: 8.5%.

Bhutan: Dataset 2007 Bhutan Living Standard Survey (National Statistics Bureau-NSB): households, representing 125, people, representing 630,000 Unit of Analysis: Household. All members of a household identified as poor are considered poor.

Objective The NSB estimates income poverty (they use the FGT class: incidence (HCR), intensity (PGR) and severity (SPGR). Q/ How do figures change when we move from income poverty to multidimensional poverty?

Selected Indicators & Deprivation Cutoffs IndicatorDeprivation Cutoff INCOME Bhutan Food Poverty Line (Nu pc p/month) Bhutan Poverty Line (Nu 1, pc p/month) LITERACY None of the household members is literate (Basu & Foster, 1998) ROOM AVAILABILITY More than 3 persons per room (MDG). ELECTRICITYNot having access to electricity. DRINKING WATER Not having any of these: pipe in dwelling, neighbour’s pipe, public outdoor tap or protected well. (MDG) SANITATIONNot having flush toilet or pit latrine. (MDG).

Results with Equal Weights: Each Indicator counts with w i =1

% of People Deprived in Each Indicator IndicatorNumber of Deprived in… H Subsistence Income 37, Income146, Literacy 53, Room Availability302, Electricity188, Drinking Water57, Improved Sanitation23,

Rural vs. Urban: Contribution to overall H by each Indicator Rural Pop. Share: 74% - Urban Pop. Share: 26%

H and Mo for different k values k Number of HH Poor in k or more… HMoA On average poor in… 1409, , , , , Income H=23.2%

Rural vs. Urban: Contribution to overall Mo for different k Rural Pop. Share: 74% - Urban Pop. Share: 26%

Bhutan’s 20 Districts

Selected Rank Changes: Income Poverty vs. Multidimensional Poverty DistrictIncome H Income Rank (Ascending) M 0 k=2 M 0 Rank (Ascending) Rank Change (H Income- M 0 ) Thimpu Gasa Chhukha Lhuntse

Why the changes? GasaLhuntse VariableH by Indicator%ContribH by Indicator%Contrib Income0.0413% % Literacy % % Room Availability % % Electricity % % Drinking Water % % Improved Sanitation % M0M

Final Thoughts Income deprivation does not tell the whole story about deprivation in Bhutan. Ranking districts by income poverty can hide serious deprivation in many other indicators. Room Availability, Access to Electricity, Access to Drinking Water: high deprivation in many areas. Rural Areas are the ones that contribute most both to income and multidimensional poverty.

Additional Slides (If required for the discussion)

Rural vs. Urban: H by Indicator IndicatorH Rural % Contrib H Urban % Contrib H Bhutan Subsistence Income8100%0.160% 5.9 Income30.998%1.72%23.2 Literacy10.390%3.510% 8.5 Room Availability52.581%35.819%48.1 Electricity40.399%1.151%29.9 Drinking Water12.299%0.51% 9.1 Improved Sanitation4.692%1.18% 3.6 Rural Pop. Share=74% - Urban Pop. Share=26%

Rural vs. Urban: M 0 with different k KM 0 Rural % Contrib M 0 Urban % Contrib M 0 Bhutan %0.079% % % % % % % % % Rural Pop Share=74% - Urban Pop Share=26%