A Distribution-Free Test for Deprivation Dominance

Deprivation dominance is a useful concept for evaluating poverty profiles (poverty rate, gap, and inequality among the poor) across regions and/or over time. In this paper, we develop a distribution-free test for deprivation dominance---an one-sided joint test for the differences between two poverty profiles. This test operationalizes the concept proposed by Sen (1976) and Shorrocks (1995) and can be applied to income survey data. We apply the test to Canadian income survey data and provide the statistical evidence about the differences in poverty intensity across four Canadian regions