LAUSR

Abstract The literature on the concept and measurement of poverty has significantly improved from the traditional unidimensional (income/expenditure) analysis to the multidimensional concept of poverty and well-being. Following the Multidimensional Poverty Assessment Tool (MPAT), the study explored the potential of combining counting and participatory approaches in determining levels of deprivations and well-being in an upland farming community in the Philippines. Data from a random sample of 153 farming households and analyzed following Alkire and the Foster’s methodology revealed that 3 out of 4 households are multidimensionally poor. Results of the study also show that farming households’ ability to generate farm- and non-farm income in addition to the high degree of exposure to idiosyncratic and covariate shocks contribute to the high multidimensional poverty index. Further, the study presents implications of these results for antipoverty policy in the rural context.