Fuzzy Subset Theory in the Measurement of Poverty

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What has not been explored in the traditional measures of poverty is the extensive set of categorical variables that indicate standard of living and are already available from existing survey data. What precluded researchers from deriving poverty and welfare gauges from these data is the difficulty of incorporating these indicators in their measurement. This article offers a new approach to the traditional measures that allow these available data to be readily utilized. While accounting for the multi-dimensionality of the poverty phenomenon, the approach still provides formalism in the use of other variable parallel to and complementary with income and expenditure.