Economics is the study of how we make choices in the face of scarcity and how those choices motivate behavior.

Poverty Analysis and Measurement Development deals with the alleviation or the eradication of poverty. Poverty is inter-related to other problems of underdevelopment. In rural and urban communities, poverty can be very different. In urban areas people often have access to health and education but many of the problems caused by poverty are made worse by things like overcrowding, unhygienic conditions, pollution, unsafe houses etc. In rural areas there is often poor access to education, health and many other services but people usually live in healthier and safer environments. Since the alleviation of poverty is the most important aim of development work, we have to understand how to measure poverty. Development means that there has been some improvement and improvements must be measurable.

Choosing and Estimating a Poverty Line Once an aggregate income, consumption or non-monetary measure is defined at the household or individual level, the next step is to define one or more poverty lines. What is Poverty Line? Poverty lines are cut-off points separating the poor from the non-poor. They can be monetary (for example a certain level of consumption) or non-monetary (for example a certain level of literacy). The use of multiple lines can help in distinguishing different levels of poverty

The difference between research and non-research activity is, in the way we find answers: the process must meet certain requirements to be called research. We can identify these requirements by examining some definitions of research. Research is the process of conducting an organized and systematic way of finding answers to questions. This implies finding answers to questions by using reliable and valid laid down procedures, methods and techniques within a framework of a set of philosophies (approaches). The process should always be unbiased and objective. “Scientific research is systematic, controlled, empirical, and critical investigation of natural phenomena guided by theory and hypotheses about the presumed relations among such phenomena.” – Kerlinger, 1986.

Literature review is integral part of entire research process and makes valuable contribution to every operational step. This is an essential preliminary task in order to acquaint yourself with the available body of knowledge in your area of interest. Disadvantages of Literature Review i. It can be time-consuming at times ii. It is a daunting task when there is so much done about your area of in interest iii. It is frustrating when there is little or no study done about your area of interest. Key Functions of Literature Review i) Brings clarity and focus to your research problem ii) Improves your methodology; iii) Broadens your knowledge; iv) Contextualizes the author’s findings.

Step 4: Preparing the Research Design Research design is the conceptual structure within which research would be conducted. The function of research design is to provide for the collection of relevant information with minimal expenditure of effort, time and money. The preparation of research design, appropriate for a particular research problem, involves the consideration of the following: 1. Objectives of the research study. 2. Method of Data Collection to be adopted 3. Source of information—Sample Design 4. Tool for Data collection 5. Data Analysis-- qualitative and quantitative

Determining the Sample Design Sample design covers the areas of sampling frame, sample size, and sampling methodology. Aspects to be considered within these areas include: Researchers usually draw conclusions about large groups by taking a sample. A sample is a segment/ part/small section of the population selected to represent the population as a whole. Population on the other hand is the largest collection of values of a random variable for which we have an interest at a particular time. A sampling frame is a list of all members (e.g. persons, households, businesses, schools) of the target population for the survey. For example, a sampling frame may be the electoral roll, the membership list of a club, or a register of schools. Information collected from the sample is used to make conclusion/inferences on population characteristics. Ideally, the sample should be representative and allow the researcher to make accurate estimates of the thoughts and behaviour of the larger population. To draw conclusions about populations from samples, one must use inferential statistics to be able to determine a population’s characteristics by directly observing only a portion of the it. Designing the sample calls for three key decisions to answer the following questions:

COLLECTING DATA: Having formulated the research problem, developed a study design, constructed a research instrument and selected a sample, you then collect the data from which you will draw inferences and conclusions for your study. Depending upon your plans, you might commence interviews, mail out a questionnaire, conduct experiments and/or make observations. Collecting data through any of the methods may involve some ethical issues in relation to the participants and the researcher: - Those from whom information is collected or those who are studied by a researcher become participants of the study. - Anyone who collects information for a specific purpose, adhering to the accepted code of conduct, is a researcher.

DATA PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS: Processing and analyzing data involves a number of closely related operations which are performed with the purpose of summarizing the collected data and organizing these in a manner that they answer the research questions (objectives). The Data Processing operations are: 1. Editing – This is the process of examining the collected raw data to detect errors and omissions and to correct these when possible. 2. Classification – This is the process of arranging data in groups or classes on the basis of common characteristics. Depending on the nature of phenomenon involved a) Classification according to attributes: Here, data is analyzed on the basis of common characteristics which can either be: i) Descriptive such as literacy, sex, religion etc. ii) Numerical such as weight, height, income etc. Such classification can be either: • Simple classification: where we consider only one attribute, and divide the universe into two classes – one class consisting of items possessing the given attribute, and the other class consisting of items which do not possess the given attribute.

Another convenient feature of the FGT class of poverty measures is that they can be disaggregated for population subgroups and the contribution of each subgroup to national poverty can be calculated. Although the FGT measure provides an elegant unifying framework for measures of poverty, it leaves unanswered the question of the best value of . The measures of poverty depth and poverty severity provide information complementary to the incidence of poverty. It might be that some groups have a high poverty incidence but low poverty gap (when numerous members are just below the poverty line), while other groups have a low poverty incidence but a high poverty gap for those who are poor (when relatively few members are below the poverty line but with extremely low levels of consumption). The Table below provides an example from Madagascar