In this paper a poverty segregation curve is proposed to measure regional inequality in the distribution of the poor. Axioms of relative income inequality are reformulated and interpreted in the context of the poverty segregation curve. A generalized version of the segregation curve is
formalized for the first time Segregation analysis is applied to study regional concentration of the poor in India in the decade following economic reforms of the early 1990s. Using household survey data poverty levels are estimated in all 35 states and territories in India. Results indicate that there was a significant increase in the segregation of the poor in India; when poverty was measured both by income and non-income deprivation indices. Other measures such as the dissimilarity index, the Gini index and the square root index also confirm an increase in inequality in the distribution of the poor. The generalized segregation curve however shows that the decline in poverty more than compensated the rise in inequality in the distribution of the poor.