Intertemporal poverty comparisons

This paper deals with the problem of making general comparisons of well-being when wellbeing is measured in multiple dimensions. We note at the outset that much of the literature on the measurement of well-being incorporates multiple dimensional indicators of well-being by adding them up, such as when food and non-food expenditures are aggregated to compute total expenditures and assess monetary poverty — essentially returning to a univariate analysis. In some cases, these procedures may be perfectly appropriate. In others, however, it could be that specific aggregation rules to sum up the dimensions may be somewhat arbitrary or objectionable, especially when the dimensions cannot be considered evidently comparable or perfectly substitutable in generating overall well-being. This then leaves open the possibility that two equally admissible rules for aggregating across several dimensions of well-being could lead to contradictory findings and/or policy guidance.