The Influence of Poverty Measuring on our worldview How statistics on poverty are being used to tell a story on progress

Abstract

This thesis tries to explore the influence of poverty measurements, and especially the extreme poverty line by the World Bank, on the story of progress. It will look at the history of development and how what actually happened varies greatly from many stories about what happened. It will analyze the extreme poverty line specifically and debate whether the flaws of this measurement should devalue its influence. It will look at the influence of the extreme poverty line both global, and local. To gain an understanding of its local influence the research will focus on India.