Comparing multidimensional poverty with qualitative indicators of well-being *

Poverty has been increasingly recognized as a multidimensional phenomenon, in large part due to the influential work of Sen (1979, 1985, 1987). A number of variables other than income can indeed provide important information on well-being and poverty, such as the state of health, the level of education, ownership of durable goods, access to basic services, etc. One set of variables that affects well-being deals with the size and composition of the households in which individuals live. Other variables are more geographical or describe the nature of one’s area of residence (e.g., rural vs. urban area).