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Poverty in Sri Lanka: Nature, Incidence and Measurement Issues

This paper examines the incidence and trends in poverty in Sri Lanka. It also highlights some issues related to poverty assessment and availability of data for poverty analysis in the country. Some correlates -of poverty such as employment and unemployment are also examined in the paper. The paper is organized into five sections including the introductory section. In section 2, conceptual and measurement issues in poverty are examined as a prelude to a discussion of a much more pragmatic and methodological issue involved with measuring poverty in Sri Lanka. The third section is devoted to examining such issues along with a set of identified correlates. Poverty measurement issues with special reference to Sri Lanka are examined in the fourth section. Subjects dealt in the fourth section include the comparability of existing data and their adequacy in understanding poverty. The final section is devoted to drawing the implications of the analysis.