Multidimensional Quality of Life Index (MQLI) An Alternative Approach for Estimating Multidimensional Poverty in Six Metro Cities of India

Abstract : In recent years, the multidimensional approach to poverty has received much attention of researchers, planners and policy makers. Poverty is now accepted as a multi-dimensional phenomenon that will need to be assessed by going beyond income or consumption expenditure alone. Using a monetary measure alone does not capture high incidence of multidimensional poverty in six metro cities of India. This calls for an appropriate choice of monetary and nonmonetary, which might also supplement the existing measure of monetary poverty. In view of our objective and the controversy over the use of money-metric poverty or MPI, the present study attempts to develop an alternative measure of poverty called Multidimensional Quality of Life Index combining monetary and non-monetary dimensions for estimating poverty. This paper provides the estimates of urban poverty using the Multidimensional Quality of Life Index (MQLI) for six metro cities in India. It is hoped that the index can be useful for revealing the true deprivation structure, which can help in designing the appropriate anti-poverty strategies at the national level.