But the bank might do more harm than good if it shifted focus from absolute poverty to relative deprivation.

ECONOMIST: The World Bank

Psychosocial stress from relative deprivation, disrupted social cohesion, disinvestment in social capital and underinvestment in human resources have all been cited as possible contributors to this phenomenon.

ECONOMIST: Letters

Britain uses three measures: one relative, one absolute and a broader indicator of material deprivation, such as whether a child can celebrate his birthday.

ECONOMIST: The world��s richest country tries to count its poor

There was a strong relationship between social context and the relative level of rejected ballots - the greater the degree of social deprivation in a constituency, the higher the rate of ballot rejections.

BBC: NEWS | UK | Scotland | Ballot paper report at-a-glance