A Simple Poverty Scorecard for Colombia

This study uses Colombia’s 2009 Integrated 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 agents 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. Poverty scoring is a practical way for pro-poor programs in Colombia to estimate poverty rates, track changes in poverty rates over time, and target services.

[Author's abstract]