Against Poverty: A Common Measure

Abstract

There is no scientific basis to the definition of poverty: it is the outcome of a convention translated by indicators and measured by statistics. But this definition is used when setting up and evaluating public policy and is, therefore, of vital importance for the many social, public and private parties involved. The setting up in France in 1999 of an ‘Observatoire’, a body monitoring poverty and social exclusion, was a particularly original response to the problem of providing a shared view, across the board, of poverty in a country. Made up of representatives from the main administrative bodies producing data, researchers and universities, alongside representatives from associations, the Observatoire publishes a report every 18 months describing the main developments with regard to the poor and emphasizing particular aspects of poverty — people with no fixed abode, the geographical distribution of poverty within the country, the access of the poor to their rights, the image of poverty, etc.