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Measuring Poverty around the World
The final book from a towering pioneer in the study of poverty and inequality―a critically important examination of poverty around the world
In this, his final book, economist Anthony Atkinson, one of the world’s great social scientists and a pioneer in the study of poverty and inequality, offers an inspiring analysis of a central What is poverty and how much of it is there around the globe? The persistence of poverty―in rich and poor countries alike―is one of the most serious problems facing humanity. Better measurement of poverty is essential for raising awareness, motivating action, designing good policy, gauging progress, and holding political leaders accountable for meeting targets. To help make this possible, Atkinson provides a critically important examination of how poverty is―and should be―measured.
Bringing together evidence about the nature and extent of poverty across the world and including case studies of sixty countries, Atkinson addresses both financial poverty and other indicators of deprivation. He starts from first principles about the meaning of poverty, translates these into concrete measures, and analyzes the data to which the measures can be applied. Crucially, he integrates international organizations’ measurements of poverty with countries’ own national analyses.
Atkinson died before he was able to complete the book, but at his request it was edited for publication by two of his colleagues, John Micklewright and Andrea Brandolini. In addition, François Bourguignon and Nicholas Stern provide afterwords that address key issues from the unfinished how poverty relates to growth, inequality, and climate change.
The result is an essential contribution to efforts to alleviate poverty around the world.
In this, his final book, economist Anthony Atkinson, one of the world’s great social scientists and a pioneer in the study of poverty and inequality, offers an inspiring analysis of a central What is poverty and how much of it is there around the globe? The persistence of poverty―in rich and poor countries alike―is one of the most serious problems facing humanity. Better measurement of poverty is essential for raising awareness, motivating action, designing good policy, gauging progress, and holding political leaders accountable for meeting targets. To help make this possible, Atkinson provides a critically important examination of how poverty is―and should be―measured.
Bringing together evidence about the nature and extent of poverty across the world and including case studies of sixty countries, Atkinson addresses both financial poverty and other indicators of deprivation. He starts from first principles about the meaning of poverty, translates these into concrete measures, and analyzes the data to which the measures can be applied. Crucially, he integrates international organizations’ measurements of poverty with countries’ own national analyses.
Atkinson died before he was able to complete the book, but at his request it was edited for publication by two of his colleagues, John Micklewright and Andrea Brandolini. In addition, François Bourguignon and Nicholas Stern provide afterwords that address key issues from the unfinished how poverty relates to growth, inequality, and climate change.
The result is an essential contribution to efforts to alleviate poverty around the world.
- GenresEconomicsNonfiction
464 pages, Hardcover
Published June 18, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 28, 2019
Fantastic overview of contemporary issues in poverty measurement and comparative national approaches to poverty measurement. Extremely timely and poignant (a word I would not use to describe most books on economics) final book from Atkinson.
November 25, 2025
Started to read, but realized it might be better as a reference guide than something you read all the way through. Plus, given the time of the author's death, some of the data is outdated. Of course, data is often outdated as soon as it is released.
December 13, 2020
A pity it is an unfinished book leaving obvious gaps in many places.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews