Scholars unanimously recognize that the official measures of poverty are not suitable for the analysis of poverty and deprivation among foreigners. Indeed, foreign population is characterizes by different consumption and saving behaviour especially in the first period of their migration experience. The present study aims at analysing the poverty and the risk of poverty among foreigners living in Lombardy by means of a methodology recently introduced by Fattore based on the partially ordered set theory. This methodology allows us to evaluate the poverty through multidimensional comparisons among achievement profiles, rather than through attribute score aggregations. This overcomes the limitations of aggregative procedures and counting approaches. The data were collected as part of the monitoring activity of the Observatorio Regionale per l’Integrazione e la Multietnicità of the Ismu Foundation.

The results allow us to evaluate the risk of poverty and the poverty condition among foreigners comparing specific groups.