for example if everyones income falls by the same amount no one will appear to have become any poorer in relative terms it is adjusted for price inflation but not for changes in median incomes so that individuals may compare their material circumstances not only with those of the average person in the society in which they live but also with their own in a previous period matsaganis p moreover during economic crises the anchored poverty rate is more sensitive to the deteriorating living conditions of the poor social protection committee