Using Rippin’s approach to estimate multi-dimensional poverty in Central America

The removal of poverty remains one of the most important aims of economic policy in many countries of the world; it continues to be one of the greatest global challenges and is an essential ‘requirement for sustainable development’. In line with the literature, the individual multi-dimensional poverty function must not only identify the poor but also capture the intensity of the multi-dimensional poverty experience. The inclusion of employment as a dimension is based on its instrumental significance as well as on its intrinsic importance. Water and sanitation are also of considerable instrumental and intrinsic importance. The Alkire and Foster (AF) methodology, as the mainstream approach to the measurement of multi-dimensional poverty in the developing world, is insensitive to inequality among the poor. It appears that multi-dimensional poverty among adults is highest in Guatemala and Nicaragua and lowest in Costa Rica.