Question 23M.1.SL.TZ2.2a
| Date | May 2023 | Marks available | [Maximum mark: 10] | Reference code | 23M.1.SL.TZ2.2a |
| Level | SL | Paper | 1 | Time zone | TZ2 |
| Command term | Explain | Question number | a | Adapted from | N/A |
Explain the difficulties involved in measuring poverty.
[10]
Refer to Paper 1 markbands for May 2022 forward, available under the "My tests" tab > supplemental materials.
Answers may include:
- Terminology: poverty.
- Explanation: of the difficulties in terms of the different types of poverty, eg absolute and relative, and poverty measured on the basis of income as compared to multi-dimensional poverty; measurement problems involving income versus wealth; problems of using household surveys, differences in costs of living, how far people in poverty are below the poverty line, where to draw the poverty line.
- Diagram: no diagram is required for this question, although some candidates may choose to use a diagram related to the question.
A maximum of [6] should be awarded if only one difficulty is explained.
Assessment Criteria
Part (a) 10 marks
This question was challenging for students because they found it difficult to integrate theory effectively into their answers. This meant many answers were rather general and descriptive. Good answers to this question considered the difference between absolute and relative poverty and went on to explain the difficulties of measuring both types. This included factors such as deciding on the income level for absolute poverty and the average income for relative poverty. Strong answers went on to consider the problems of using the Multidimensional Poverty Index to measure poverty. Lower-achieving responses tended to consider the problems of measuring poverty such as parallel markets and income inequality without relating these specifically enough as a problem of measuring poverty.
