The Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative and the MPI are definitely important contributions, with respect to your query. Defining indicators for subjective poverty implies a value dimension (set of priorities in life) and the identifying of minimal cost of living in certain place. I lived in a place, where the rent for housing was well over a median income; most inhabitants were high finance people and went with their luxury car to work. As a simple bicycle driver, my subjective poverty in such an environment was definitely significant, but I always preferred fresh air and this is why I choose to live in that place.

Some literature beyond the basics you mention:

https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/3254/WPS5968.pdf

https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-94-007-0753-5_2900

Article Subective poverty line definitions

https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/10.1162/003465300558821?mobileUi=0&

http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/996191468757792826/pdf/multi-page.pdf

The Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative and the MPI are definitely important contributions, with respect to your query. Defining indicators for subjective poverty implies a value dimension (set of priorities in life) and the identifying of minimal cost of living in certain place. I lived in a place, where the rent for housing was well over a median income; most inhabitants were high finance people and went with their luxury car to work. As a simple bicycle driver, my subjective poverty in such an environment was definitely significant, but I always preferred fresh air and this is why I choose to live in that place.

Dear Slawomir Kalinowski

Thank you for your valuable question. Far from being an expert on the subject, I take the liberty of mentioning some elements in line with the problem – I hope they may be of some use in some sense–.

As is reiterated in the literature, the normative essence of the concepts of poverty and basic needs, whatever specific standards are used to define deprivation, must be adjusted to a specific social context and the scale of values associated with that particular lifestyle. Thus, it would be necessary to agree on the lifestyle that is approved in each society, linked to a level of resources that allows for sharing the customs, activities and diets of the "dominant" lifestyle. However, given the absence of common criteria, defining such a list of items or the income level setting the poverty line cannot be free from arbitrary criteria. On the other hand, the subjective perception of one's own well-being, relative to that of others, may give rise to feelings of relative deprivation. A person with a given level of income may not feel poor if he lives in a resource-constrained society, but if he lives in an affluent one, his income may be insufficient to allow him to integrate adequately.

As Max Weber discerns, it is not only class that counts. For example, a person who has substantial wealth in the United States but who was residing in Europe in 1942 under German occupation was of no use to his fortune since he was prevented from using it, and would therefore be classed as poor. Conversely, a penniless person who produces all the necessary goods with his own means would have a certain level of wealth without the need for money.

Sorry for not being able to answer your question, and on the contrary adding more uncertainty. We look forward to the contributions of colleagues who are working on these issues, to sort out the ideas.

Best regards and thanks

Fernando (from Argentina)

Estimado Slawomir

Gracias por su valiosa pregunta. Lejos de ser un entendido en el tema, me tomo el atrevimiento de mencionar algunos elementos en línea con el problema –espero puedan ser de utilidad en algún sentido–.

Como se reitera en la literatura, la esencia normativa de los conceptos de pobreza y de necesidades básicas, cualesquiera sean las normas concretas que se utilicen para definir la privación, deben ajustarse a un contexto social específico y a la escala de valores asociada a ese determinado estilo de vida. De manera, que sería necesario acordar el estilo de vida que es aprobado en cada sociedad, vinculado a un nivel de recursos que permite compartir las costumbres, actividades y dietas del estilo de vida “dominante”. No obstante, dada la ausencia de criterios comunes, definir esa lista de artículos o el nivel ingreso que fijen el umbral de pobreza, no podrá estar exento de criterios arbitrarios. Por otro lado, la percepción subjetiva del propio bienestar, relativo al de otros, puede dar lugar a sentimientos de privación relativa. Una persona con un nivel de ingreso determinado puede no sentirse pobre si vive en una sociedad de recursos limitados, pero si vive en una opulenta, sus ingresos pueden ser insuficientes para permitir que se integre en forma adecuada.

Tal como discierne Max Weber no solamente la clase es lo que cuenta. Por ejemplo, una persona que posee una importante riqueza en Estados Unidos pero que se encontraba residiendo en 1942 en Europa en el marco de la ocupación alemana, no le era de utilidad su fortuna dado que estaba impedido de utilizarla, y por tanto sería calificado como pobre. A la inversa una persona sin dinero que produce con sus propios medios todos los bienes necesarios, dispondría de cierto nivel de riqueza sin necesidad de dinero.

Disculpe por no poder responder su pregunta, y por el contrario agregar mayor incertidumbre. Esperamos los aportes de colegas que están trabajando estos temas, para que ordenen las ideas.

Un saludo y gracias

Fernando (desde Argentina)