A Better Way to Measure Poverty

(Oct. 18) – In the U.S., a new, nuanced tool can help policy makers and social-services providers understand the country’s most acute areas of need more quickly and effectively. It is called the Human Needs Index, or HNI. Developed by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and the Salvation Army, the HNI focuses not on income, but on consumption. It isn’t about someone’s means; it’s about whether they can adequately meet life’s fundamental needs.