The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) in Monitoring Poverty in Jamaica

This policy brief makes the case for the use of a Multidimensional Poverty Index  (MPI) in monitoring poverty in Jamaica, as a complement to the current money metric approach (based on consumption) which limits attention to remedial programmes geared towards lifting households above the poverty threshold. This widely used approach of moving households above some income/consumption threshold overlooks that individuals are poor in different ways and skirts broader issues for designing appropriate social protection policies/programmes. In contrast, the MPI approach has been shown to be a much more stable indicator of poverty and brings attention to the multiple dimensions of deprivation faced by households and the policies needed to address these deprivations. The MPI has four dimensions (education, living standards, employment and health) and a number of related indicators were used to demonstrate and compute the level of deprivation for Jamaica.