A Simple Poverty Scorecard for Ecuador

This study uses Ecuador's 2005/6 Living Standards Survey to construct an easy-to-use scorecard that estimates the likelihood that a household has expenditure below a given poverty line. The scorecard uses 10 simple indicators that field workers can quickly collect and verify. Poverty scores can be computed on paper in the field in about 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 Ecuador to monitor poverty rates, track changes in poverty rates over time, and target services. [Author's abstract]