Income wrong tool to measure poverty: Sen

New Delhi, Aug 16 (PTI) The way most governments measure
poverty by basing it on income may be a flawed perception of
well-being, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen argues in his new book.

Sen, a former Trinity master, economist, philosopher and
mathematician, all rolled into one, in his latest book 'The
Idea of Justice' says the income approach to poverty, which
considers people earning less than a certain amount annually
as poor, is not an accurate measure of how well people live.

Instead the laureate gives precedence to one's capability
or the capacity that people have of choosing and leading their
lives.

Based on the capability approach, he says, "Poverty will
be much more intense than what can be deduced from the income
date" due to variations in the distribution of wealth within
the family.

For instance, if the family's income is used
disproportionately to advance the interests of only certain
individuals, then the "aggregate family income" may not
adequately reflect the deprivation of neglected members.

The link between resources and poverty is rather complex.
"It is variable and deeply contingent on the characteristics
of the respective people and the environment in which they
live -- both natural and social," he notes.

Sen says income is not an indicator of one's standard of
living, the kinds of lifestyles that people can lead depend on
many factors, including diversities in the physical
environment, variations in social climate, differences in
relational perspectives.

"Handicaps, such as age or disability or illness, reduce
one's ability to earn an income. But they also make it harder
to convert income into capability, since an older, or more
disabled have to work more to achieve the same functioning,"
he adds.

Sen points out that different kinds of disadvantage
related to capability deprivation can be a "critically
important consideration" in understanding poverty and in
preparing a public policy to tackle poverty. PTI RAM
DDC