Q.Why is the calorie-based norm not adequate to identify the poor?

The calorie/expenditure norm treats all the poor as one undifferentiated group and leaves out the many non-income dimensions of poverty, so it cannot say who among the poor is worst off.

The calorie-based (per capita expenditure) norm is inadequate for several reasons:

1. It does not differentiate among the poor. It groups the absolutely poor, the very poor and the poor together, so it cannot show who among the poor most needs help.
2. A narrow proxy for income. It takes only expenditure on food and a few select items as a proxy for income, and economists question this basis.
3. It ignores non-income dimensions. Factors such as access to basic education, health care, drinking water and sanitation — closely associated with poverty — are left out.
4. It ignores social factors. Illiteracy, ill health, lack of access to resources, discrimination and the lack of civil and political freedoms, which trigger and perpetuate poverty, are not captured.

The norm is therefore useful for identifying the poor as a group to be looked after, but not for targeting help to those who need it most, which is why scholars have developed alternatives such as the Sen Index and the Poverty Gap Index.