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Concept And Measurement Of Poverty

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2.0: Introduction:
This part reviews some of the available literature on concepts, theories and previous research findings pertaining to the research problem so as to establish the theoretical and empirical base of the study. Literature review is used by the researcher to bring the reader update with current literature on a topic and forms the base for another goal, such as future research that may be needed in the area. It is also used to provide solid background information under the study. The literature reviews aims at finding the gap between what other authors have explained theoretically and empirically and what has not been explained. The knowledge gap needs to be established and fitted by the researcher.
2.1: Concept and Measurement of poverty
2.1.1: Definition of poverty
Poverty of an individual or household is defined as a state of having an income or consumption expenditure which is below a certain level/standard known as the poverty line (Bigsten ; Abebe, 2003). Townsend (1985) defined poverty as not only a failure to meet minimum nutrition levels but also as a failure to keep with a standard of living prevailing in the society. Thus according to Townsend a household is considered as being poor if and only if its standard of living is below that of the society. Poverty on the other hand can be observed as the condition of a household being unable to meet basic needs including food, shelter, education etc. (World Bank, 1996).
According to the economist a household

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