A Simple Poverty Scorecard for El Salvador

This study uses El Salvador’s 2008 Multi-Purpose Household Survey to construct an easy-to-use scorecard that estimates the likelihood that a household has income below a given poverty line. The scorecard uses ten simple indicators that field workers can quickly collect and verify. Poverty scores can be computed on paper in the field in five to ten minutes. The scorecard’s accuracy and precision are reported for a range of poverty lines. The poverty scorecard is a practical way for pro-poor programs in El Salvador to measure poverty rates, to track changes in poverty rates over time, and to target services.