nearpoor

Near-poor is a term used to describe individuals or households that are not officially poor according to standard poverty measures but are close to that threshold and financially vulnerable. The exact definition varies by country and study, since poverty lines and measurement methods differ. In practice, near-poor communities are those whose resources are just above the poverty line and who face a heightened risk of slipping below it due to shocks, rising costs, or health expenditures.

Measurement and data typically involve household surveys that tie income or consumption to a national or international poverty line. Researchers may identify near-poor as those whose resources lie near the threshold in a cross-sectional sense, or as those who drift into poverty from a near-poor position due to adverse events in dynamic analyses. The concept emphasizes vulnerability and the potential for short-term fluctuations to produce lasting poverty, and it is often used in analyses that incorporate vulnerability and resilience, sometimes alongside multidimensional indicators such as health, housing, and education.

Policy relevance stems from the aim to prevent poverty transitions rather than merely classify current deprivation. Near-poor targeting can inform social protection strategies, such as cash transfers, price subsidies, or safety nets, to reduce the probability of falling into poverty after shocks. It also helps assess the adequacy of social programs and resilience investments to stabilize household welfare amid economic volatility.

Limitations include the arbitrariness of thresholds and sensitivity to the chosen poverty line, which can lead to misclassification. The near-poor concept should complement, not replace, standard poverty measures and should be interpreted alongside broader indicators of vulnerability and risk.