1. Poverty measurement in Mauritius
Chandranee
July 2019

2. National priority Among others includes Poverty eradication,
Improving well being
Ensuring inclusive growth
More than 50% Government spending's devoted to social welfare state

3. Poverty measurement It is multidimensional No single definition
No single measurement
It is measured in both monetary and non-monetary terms

4. Monetary Approach Poverty is assessed based on Relative Poverty Line
RPL – half of median monthly household income per adult equivalent
Relative poverty – 9.4% in 2017
Available every five years

5. Monetary Approach
Using the relative poverty measurement, the profile of poor is analysed
Upon using the Small Area Estimation Technique the poverty rate is produced by region (based on both HBS and Census data)

6. Non-monetary Approach
Relative Development Index – (an adapted version of UN HDI)
It measures relative achievement of regions in terms of:
Housing and living conditions
Education
Employment

7. Non-monetary Approach
It is disaggregated by lowest geographical level
It is available since 1990 (every ten years) based on Census data
Disseminated in the forms of thematic maps and dashboard

9. Non-monetary Approach
Relative Deprivation Index on an experimental basis (Not published)
Based on Global MPI methodology
Dimensions and Indicators are not same
Dimensions are:
Housing and living conditions
Household characteristics
Education
Employment

10. Non-monetary Approach
Level of disaggregation – lowest geographical level
Data source: Housing and Population Census
Concern: It highly correlates with the RDI but not a perfect match
Used for internal consumption for poverty alleviation programme

11. Quality of Life – measurement
Started in 2012 – constructing a database using existing data
Living Condition Survey (2018/2019)
Quality of life (incl. subjective well being)
Time Use
Questions on FIES

12. Thank you