A human rights-consistent approach to multidimensional welfare measurement applied to sub-Saharan Africa

Research output: Working paperResearch

The rights-based approach to development targets progress towards the realization of 30 articles set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Progress is frequently measured using the multidimensional poverty index. While elegant and useful, the multidimensional poverty index is in reality inconsistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights principles of indivisibility, inalienability, and equality. We show that a first-order dominance methodology maintains consistency with basic principles, discuss the properties of the multidimensional poverty index and first-order dominance, and apply the measures to 26 African countries. We conclude that the multidimensional poverty index and first-order dominance are useful complements that should be employed in tandem.
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationHelsinki
Number of pages28
Publication statusPublished - 2017
SeriesWIDER Working Paper
Number76
Volume2017

    Research areas

  • Faculty of Social Sciences - first-order dominance, multidimensional welfare measurement, sub-Saharan Africa, Demographic and Health Survey, human rights-based approach, C81, D39, D63, I3, O12, O55

ID: 176337870