The development of the study of poverty experienced a significant shift in the analysis of the Human Development Report (HDR) proposed by the United National Development Program (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI). Since 2010, UNDP and OPHI have agreed to initiate a new poverty measurement through the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) which is included in HDR 2010.
This is different from the poverty measurement method which has been based on income or consumption. MPI sees the broader structure of poverty, not just income or consumption, but defines it in a multidimensional way, such as limited access to education, health and quality of life. This concept has actually been expressed by Amartya Sen, who stated that poverty must be seen from various dimensions such as education, health, quality of life, democracy and people's freedom to access the economy (Sen, 1981; Sen, 2000).
MPI includes three dimensions, namely education, health and quality of life. There are ten indicators that are more comprehensive or fairer in measuring poverty. And the indicators set out in the MPI are the coverage of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets. This scope becomes wiser for poverty studies. For UNDP to be more holistic in seeing the dimensions of poverty which continues to shift due to changes in the structure of development globally. And become the basis of a global poverty reduction strategy.
For Indonesia, MPI is a new breakthrough in capturing poverty conditions. With MPI, the government will get a more real picture of poverty than the consumption approach pattern that has been used by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). MPI will also be more objective in poverty reduction strategies in Indonesia. So that it can be an indicator for determining Indonesia's macroeconomic assumptions going forward.
