OPHI

Multidimensional Poverty Peer Network Launched in Oxford

President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia joined high-level representatives from Mexico and around 20 other governments to formally launch a new Multidimensional Poverty Peer Network in Oxford on 6 June.

The network, for policymakers engaged in implementing multidimensional poverty measures, enables early adopters to share their experiences directly with other members. You can read the launch announcement here, and watch a video of the President's speech here.

On 7 June, there were three roundtables on Multidimensional Poverty: National and Subnational Applications. Events on 6 June included a policy symposium, from 9.30-12.30 on 6 June, and a lecture by Professor Amartya Sen (see item below). See an agenda of events on 6-7 June and a list of participants.

To coincide with the launch, OPHI has published a brochure, 'Measuring Multidimensional Poverty: Insights from Around the World', which features case studies on how the Alkire Foster method of measuring multidimensional poverty has been adapted and applied in Colombia, Mexico, Bhutan, China, El Salvador, Malaysia and Minas Gerais in Brazil, among others.

Watch a podcast of Amartya Sen lecture 'Discovery of Women'

On 6 June, OPHI was delighted to host a Distinguished Public Lecture by our advisor Amartya Sen, Nobel laureate in Economics and Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University. The lecture, on the subject ‘Discovery of Women’, was given in a packed Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford, and was chaired by the Rt Hon Lord Patten of Barnes, Chancellor of Oxford University. Watch a podcast of the lecture in full.    

Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) 2013

Key findings and analysis

• How Multidimensional Poverty went Down: Dynamics and Comparisons
• Identifying the 'Bottom Billion': Beyond National Averages
• Multidimensional Poverty Reduction in India
• Plus an overview of all the key findings from the global MPI 2013

You can access our findings through a range of resources, including briefings, maps, working papers and data tables.

OPHI proposes an MPI 2.0 for the post-2015 MDGs

OPHI Director Sabina Alkire and Research Associate Andy Sumner have written a brief proposing the consideration of a Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) 2.0 for the post-2015 Millennium Development Goals. The brief suggests that a headline MPI could provide an eye-catching and intuitive overview measure, with easily understood and consistent details on its component indicators. An MPI 2.0 would complement a $1.25/day measure by showing how people are poor (what disadvantages they experience); in which regions or ethnic groups they are poor; and the inequalities between those living in poverty. Read the brief.

Spanish-language Intensive Training Course 2013 - Nicaragua

OPHI is organising an intensive training course on multidimensional poverty analysis that will be taught in Spanish in Managua, Nicaragua, from 30 August - 7 September 2013. The course, which will be hosted at the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA), will be led by the Researchers and Director of OPHI, and will provide a thorough conceptual and technical introduction to techniques of measuring multidimensional poverty, with a strong emphasis on the Alkire Foster method. Applications are now being accepted.  Find out more. En Español

OPHI Summer School 2013 - Washington DC, USA

Applications for our Summer School on Multidimensional Poverty Analysis have now closed. Summer school will be held this year at George Washington University's IIEP in Washington DC, USA, from 8-19 July. Led by OPHI's Director and Research Officers, the purpose of the intensive Summer School is to provide a thorough conceptual and technical introduction to some techniques of measuring multidimensional poverty, with a strong emphasis on the Alkire Foster method. Find out more.