World Bank to Fund Review of Poverty Estimates

The World Bank is to provide grant funding to facilitate updating of the series on poverty estimation as part of the 20-year review of the Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions (JSLC).
The revision, which is projected to be completed by June of this year, is to be undertaken by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ).
Minister of Information, Culture, Youth, and Sports, Olivia Grange, speaking at Wednesday’s (Jan. 21) post-Cabinet media briefing at Jamaica House, said that the move is in keeping with the revision of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN), to re-base the Index to 2006.
“The poverty estimates will similarly be revised to have 2006 as the base year. Both the food and non-food components of the poverty line are also being examined with a view to better reflect current consumption practices,” Ms. Grange outlined.
Permanent Secretary in the Information Ministry, Faith Innerarity, said that the review is to ensure that the methodology being used to determine poverty is efficient and accurate and is in keeping with international best practices.
“The definition of poverty as well as the measurement is quite a complex process. In some countries, poverty is estimated in terms of income. In Jamaica and other developing countries, it’s often very difficult to have precise income data. to really capture the extent of poverty in a country,” she pointed out.
The JSLC is published jointly by the PIOJ and STATIN.