Title: Comments on "Food Poverty and its Causes in Pakistan".
Abstract: This critique pertains to the development of a new poverty index by Foster, Greer, and Thorbeke (1984). The method is described and compared to A.K. Sen's poverty index, and ramifications of the method are discussed. The Foster et al. index estimates the incidence of poverty in terms of a head-count ration, but does not measure the poverty gap or the distribution of income among the poor, which is included in the Sen index. The Foster index is useful because of its decomposability by regions of the country, for different household sizes, and other groups, but this information is not expressed. An unpublished paper by Foster et al. explains the methodology for estimating poverty lines. Differentiation is made between the less poor, whose food expenditures are lower than the poverty line Z based on existing household patterns, and the real poor, whose food expenditures are lower than the line Q, which is based on the least cost of obtaining the required nutrients. The poverty line Q is stable at Rs 76/adult/month for all regions of Pakistan, but the poverty line Z varies between regions. Poverty lines vary because of differences in consumption patterns and prices. However, the stability of the poverty line Q throughout the regions does not reflect the changes in prices regionally. Consumption is not a factor. The findings are that the less poor constitute a large number, i.e., 76% are poor in urban areas and 46% are poor in rural areas. The incidence of real poor, however, is negligible at 2% of the urban population and 3% of the rural population. The logical conclusion from these incidence figures is that people are poor because people are uneducated about the nutritional value of food items, which can be remedied and food poverty eliminated. However, this is considered an exaggeration.
Publication Year: 1991
Publication Date: 1991-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['pubmed']
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