Twenty-five years ago, James Foster's influential work with Joel Greer and Erick Thorbecke helped define the way the world measures poverty. Foster will present his recent work on the theory of how to measure poverty when we care not only about income but also other dimensions of well-being such as health and education. Martin Ravallion, Director of the Development Research Group at the World Bank, is the author of a new essay that criticizes the idea of a single multidimensional index. He will argue instead that multiple indicators should be tracked separately.
Topics
More Reading
WORKING PAPER
Residential Segregation and Unequal Access to Local Public Services in India
Sam Asher
et al.
February 11, 2026
WORKING PAPER
Ten Findings about Poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean
Jillie Chang
et al.
October 28, 2025