Vulnerability To Poverty: A Survey

Abstract

There has been no consensus over the concept and measurement of
vulnerability to poverty (VP). Many scholars bring in different perspectives to
discuss various conceptual and measurement issues. This paper summarizes the
available economic literature on the definitions and measurements of VP. Despite
a lack of agreement, the concept of VP essentially captures the dynamic aspects of
poverty, which are extremely important for formulating appropriate and effective
poverty alleviation policies. This paper discusses the three basic approaches for
measuring VP. Further, the data-related issues are also discussed. Then the paper
reviews previous studies on the vulnerability estimation for different countries and
highlights the relative importance of various shocks in determining vulnerability.
Finally, the paper ends by raising a number of policy-related issues.