Multidimensional measure of poverty: a case study in Palmeira das Missões – RS

Abstract

We generally believe that a poor person is only the one who does not afford surviving. Earlier works developed by researches in Rio Grande do Sul verified other dimensions of poverty. It is important to investigate qualitative data about poor people looking for developing analyses on poverty as a process of privation of capabilities. The argument of this paper is that a person can be poor if she does not have access to basic services like education, health services, electricity, or still not having basic capabilities, which are important for freedom of choice towards different kinds of life. The main objectives are: i) to present the concept of poverty as deprivation of capabilities and some multidimensional measures of poverty ii) to calculate, using the capability approach, a multidimensional measure of poverty for women who live in Palmeira das Missões – RS.