Term

Definition

Formula

Main reference

Some notes on the definition

Frequency of data

Source of data

Poverty threshold (PT)¹

the minimum income/expenditure required for a family/individual to meet the basic food and non-food requirements 

PT = FT/(FE/TBE)

where:           

FE = actual food expenditure of families within the +/-ten percentile of the food threshold

TBE = total basic expenditure of families within the +/- ten percentile of the food threshold

1997 Philippine Poverty Statistics, NSCB

Basic food requirements² are currently based on 100% adequacy for the Recommended Energy and Nutrient Intake (RENI) for protein and energy equivalent to an average of 2000 kilocalories per capita, and 80% adequacy for other nutrients. 

On the other hand, basic non-food requirements, indirectly estimated by obtaining the ratio of food to total basic expenditures from a reference group of families, cover expenditure on: 1) clothing and footwear; 2) housing; 3) fuel, light, water; 4) maintenance and minor repairs; 5) rental of occupied dwelling units; 6) medical care; 7) education; 8) transportation and communication; 9) non-durable furnishings; 10) household operations; and 11) personal care & effects.

Annual

NSCB

Poverty incidence (P)¹

the proportion of families/individuals with per capita income/expenditure less than the per capita poverty threshold to the total number of families/individuals

P =  (Q/n) * 100

where:

Q = number of families/individuals with per capita annual income/ expenditure less than the per capita poverty threshold

n = total number of families/ individuals

1997 Philippine Poverty Statistics, NSCB

Every three years

NSCB

Food threshold (FT)¹

the minimum income/expenditure required for a family/individual to meet the basic food needs, which satisfies the nutritional requirements for economically necessary and socially desirable physical activities

FT = (cost per capita of the one-day food menu ) x (30.4 days/month)  x 12 months

1997 Philippine Poverty Statistics, NSCB

Annual

NSCB

Subsistence incidence (S)¹

the proportion of families/individuals with per capita income/expenditure less than the per capita food threshold to the total number of families/ individuals

S = (F/n) * 100

where:

F = number of families/ individuals with per capita annual income/expenditure less than the per capita annual food threshold

n = total number of families/ individuals

1997 Philippine Poverty Statistics, NSCB

Every three years

NSCB

Poverty gap (PG)¹

the total income/ expenditure shortfall (expressed in proportion to the poverty threshold) of families/ individuals with income/ expenditure below the poverty threshold, divided by the total number of families/ individuals

where:

PT   = per capita poverty threshold

Xi  = per capita income/ expenditure of the ith   poor family/individual

Q = number of families/individuals with per capita annual income/expenditure less than the per capita poverty threshold

n   = total number of families/individuals

1997 Philippine Poverty Statistics, NSCB

Every three years

NSCB

Severity of poverty (SP)¹

the total of the squared income/expenditure shortfall (expressed in proportion to the poverty threshold) of families/ individuals with income/expenditure below the poverty threshold, divided by the total number of families/ individuals

where:

PT   = per capita poverty threshold

Xi  = per capita income/ expenditure of the ith   poor family/individual

Q = number of families/ individuals with per capita annual income/expenditure less than the per capita poverty threshold

n   = total number of families/ individuals

Notes on the Official Poverty Statistics in the Philippines, Series 2003-1, NSCB

This is equal to the Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) family of measures with  alpha = 2. It is a poverty measure, which is sensitive to the income/ expenditure distribution among the poor – the worse this distribution is, the more severe poverty is.

Every three years

NSCB

Gini ratio¹

the ratio of the area between the Lorenz curve and the diagonal (the line of perfect equality) to the area below the diagonal

Notes on the Official Poverty Statistics in the Philippines, Series 2003-1, NSCB

It is a measure of the extent to which the distribution of income/ expenditure among families/individuals deviates from a perfectly equal distribution, with limits 0 for perfect equality and 1 for perfect inequality.

Every three years

The NSO releases national and regional level gini ratios.  The NSCB, on the other hand, releases provincial level gini ratios.