中文摘要
尽管多维贫困测度面临批评并引发了旷日持久的争论，但其在实践中的应用日益广泛。这些争议主要源于标准贫困识别实践与基于偏好的贫困人口定义之间的背离。本文通过提出一种贫困测度理论来弥合这一差距，该理论：（i）采用基于偏好的贫困人口定义；（ii）承认相关偏好仅被部分了解；（iii）同时涵盖福祉的市场维度与非市场维度。在两个温和的可替代性假设下，基于偏好的定义意味着两类个体属于贫困人口：至少在一个维度上处境极差的个体（“极端贫困者”），以及在多个维度上累积了中等程度低水平结果的个体（“累积贫困者”）。本文表明，标准识别实践缺乏足够的灵活性，无法恰当地识别这两类贫困人口，并提出了一种简单的改进方法来缓解这一问题。该理论提供了一个概念基础，实践者可据此为其面临的诸多选择获取指导。
Abstract
Multidimensional poverty measures are increasingly used in practice even though they face criticism and generate long-lasting debates. These contentions primarily find their origin in the divergence between standard poverty identification practices and a preference-based definition of the poor. This paper fills this gap by proposing a poverty measurement theory that (i) adopts a preference-based definition of the poor, (ii) acknowledges that the relevant preference is only partially known and (iii) encompasses both market and non-market dimensions of well-being. A preference-based definition satisfying two mild substitutability assumptions implies that two types of individuals are poor: individuals who experience an extremely low outcome in at least one dimension (“extremors”) and individuals who cumulate moderately low outcomes in several dimensions (“cumulators”). The paper shows that standard identification practices are not flexible enough to properly identify both types of poor individuals and proposes a simple refinement that improves on this issue. The theory provides a conceptual foundation from which practitioners may derive guidance for the many choices they face.