Despite their shortcomings, income measures are useful in gaining a better understanding of the extent of poverty and vulnerability worldwide. But the World Bank’s poverty line of $1.25 per day (in purchasing-power-parity terms), which is used in measuring progress toward the MDGs’ poverty-reduction target, is not the only relevant threshold.
尽管存在缺陷，但收入指标更有利于理解全世界的贫困和脆弱程度。但衡量MDG减贫目标进展情况的世界银行贫困线——每天1.25美元（以购买力平价衡量）——并不是唯一一个相关阈值。当贫困线提高到每天人均支出2美元时，全球贫困率将从18%提高到约40%，这表明大量人口生活在现有贫困线附近，在外部冲击和个人环境变化（比如价格上涨和收入下降）面前不堪一击。