Poverty, Relative to the Ability to Eradicate It: An Index of Poverty Reduction Failure

In this note we approach the question of relative poverty from a different angle. Fixing the poverty line, we ask: What is the extent of poverty relative to the resources available in the society to eradicate it? We argue that the same level of poverty is “worse” if the resources available to address it are greater. We characterize a class of indices that measure Poverty Reduction Failure and provide an empirical illustration of their suitability using data for 94 country observations in 2001.