The Political Arithmetic of Poverty

In: Social policy and administration, Band 20, Heft 1, S. 47-57

Abstract

The article continues the examination of the slippery concept of poverty and in particular the precise definition of "relative deprivation". Townsend's attempts to bring up to date the measurement of poverty are subject to renewed critical analysis. Attempts to construct a deprivation index are regarded sceptically and the statistical measurement of poverty and of deprivation are shown to be unsatisfactory and unconvincing.