Download or read book Poverty Lines in Theory and Practice written by Martin Ravallion and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1998-01-01 with total page 58 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A poverty line helps focus the attention of governments and civil society on the living conditions of the poor. This paper offers a critical overview of alternative approaches to setting poverty lines. In reviewing the methods found in practice, the paper tries to throw light on, and go some way toward resolving, ongoing debates about poverty measurement, emphasizing those debates which would appear to have greatest bearing on policy discussions.