The Lancet
Jul 24, 2010  Volume 376  Number 9737  Pages 205 – 302
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

Editorial
Poverty index: who is the poorest of them all?
The Lancet

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In a working paper by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, Oxford, UK, this month, Sabine Akire and Maria Emma Santos present a new method for measuring and comparing poverty in 104 developing countries: the multidimensional poverty index (MPI). This index is a composite of three dimensions that are made up of ten indicators—health (child mortality, nutrition), education (years of school education, child enrolment), and living standards (electricity, drinking water, sanitation, flooring, cooking fuel, assets).