A new understanding of poverty

In recent years, poverty has generally been understood in "relative" terms. That is, people are regarded as poor if they earn less than some benchmark relative to average earnings. The policy response of income transfers, which are used to address the perceived problem of relative poverty, has often led to serious problems that actually reduce long-term opportunities for poorer people. The author proposes an entirely new way of measuring poverty. If this measure were applied, public policy would orientate itself towards creating the conditions that allowed the poor to become better off. This monograph is essential reading for all involved in the poverty debate. Its approach to the measurement of poverty and its policy conclusion are original and soundly based on evidence.