Pro-Poor Growth: Concepts and Measures

Abstract

This technical note reviews the current approaches to defining and measuring pro-poor growth. For this purpose, five approaches that have been most commonly used in recent years are selected. Methodological and empirical issues related to these approaches are presented to analyze each approach’s relative strengths and weaknesses in defining and measuring pro-poor growth. The approaches are analyzed in view of whether they (i) use the general or strict approach to defining pro-poor growth, and further, the relative or absolute approach under the strict approach; (ii) require a specific poverty line or poverty measure; and (iii) satisfy an axiom called monotonicity. Empirical illustrations are made using a common data set to carry out comparative studies of the five methods.