Abstract:
INTRODUCTION: There is, of course, no objective "scientifically correct"
concept of poverty, so ,one ought not to be too pedantic about
precisely which concept should be used in attempting to measure
poverty. One knows when one sees an elephant without being able to
define it and the same applies to poverty in many contexts. There
must always be an arbitrary element in the selection of the concept
to be used, and one must avoid the dangers of reification of abstract
concepts. On the other hand, the fact that some definitions of
poverty may be as valid as others does not mean that the definition
can be left imprecise. For in that case one would not even know
exactly what it is one is measuring and would not be able to make
comparisons between poverty in different situations a,s a basis for
any sort of valid inferences concerning whether it is worse in one
than in the other or whether policy to alleviate poverty is having
any impact. Of course, there are inumerable other obstacles to
making such inferences, but one should not add to them by imprecise
definitions of what it is one is measuring on the grounds that any
definition is essentially arbitrary. The two issues are quite
distinct.
