Measuring and Analyzing Poverty (with a particular reference to the case of Nepal)

This paper makes an assessment of Nepalese poverty situation during 1977 - 1997 using a comparative static approach. Income and human poverty indices have been estimated using World Bank and UNDP methods, respectively. Moreover, it also makes exploratory analysis to study the causes and nature of Nepalese poverty. It concludes that Nepalese income poverty was drastically reduced during the period 1976/77 – 1984/85, but increased afterwards. However, human poverty has reduced in sustenance during the whole period. Poverty in Nepal is more pervasive, deep and uneven as compared to the rest of the South Asia. Comparing the income and human poverty indices, we conclude that income poverty is volatile as compared to the human poverty. Poverty in Nepal has some economic, demographic, and political origins; and more remote and occupational caste people are poorer as compared to the rest.