However, a consensus has emerged favouring the use of relative poverty measures, at least in the context of developed countries (Sen, 1983). One of the purported advantages of the relative measure is that it relates more closely to the concept of capability deprivation (Sen, 1992). There is considerable variation, with poverty ranging from about 6% in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary and Iceland to above 15% in Chile, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Turkey and the United States. In addition, poverty varies considerably across age groups, children (individuals below 18 years old) and the elderly (over 65 years) suffer from higher poverty rates than working-age individuals.1 The poverty rate of women is higher than that of men in most OECD countries.