ATD Fourth World-OECD Conference on Addressing the hidden dimensions of poverty, 10 May 2019, Paris, France, More information at: https://www.oecd.org/statistics/addressing-the-hidden-dimensions-of-poverty.htm

1. How should we measure
the hidden dimensions of
poverty?
With funding from:

2. Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)
5/14/2019 Dimensionality of Poverty 2

3. Institutional
maltreatment
Hidden
Dimensions
Disempower
ment
Suffering in
body, mind
and heart
Struggle and
resistance
Social
maltreatment
Unrecognized
contribution
Core experience
Relational
dynamics
Hidden Dimensions

4. • We found them because we spoke to people experiencing
poverty and other experts using the Merging of Knowledge
approach
• Existing MPI measurement focuses on material deprivation in
the global south, not in the global north
• These six hidden dimensions express the reality of poverty
related to non-material deprivation in the global south and
global north
• This allows for a meaningful conversation between global
north and global south
• We are very optimistic that we will find a way to measure
these dimensions
Hidden Dimensions

5. Core dimensions
Suffering in body, mind & heart – beyond indicators
of physical health to emotional health, psychological
suffering and self-esteem
Struggle & resistance –the emotional resources
people draw on to resist the psychological toll of
poverty
Disempowerment – The internal and external
constraints on agency? Powerlessness?

6. Relational dynamics
• Need to understand both ends of the relationship
Institutional maltreatment: Doing and not doing of
institutions
Social maltreatment: Exclusion, stigma, prejudice
Unrecognised contributions: Important but how can we
measure it? e.g. civic action, volunteering, solidarity,
caring???

7. Participation is key
• The need for participation
• SDG: 16.7 Ensure responsive, inclusive,
participatory and representative decision-
making at all levels
• Represents the fulfilment of human rights
• Gets us closer to the real world leading to more
accurate indicators and measures

8. Participation is key
• The advantages of Merging of Knowledge
• People in poverty are co-researchers involved in
all aspects of the research process
• Time spent has helped people in poverty to gain
their voice
• It merges the knowledge of people in poverty
with that of practitioners and academics, that
makes for a better understanding of poverty

9. Final thoughts
• While the dimensions are important in themselves,
it is vital to consider the relationships between all
of them
• The individual experience of poverty is shaped by
modifying factors: timing & duration; location;
culture; identity; and environment
• It is therefore necessary to ensure that additional
relevant information is collected to enable
relationships and modifying factors to be
considered