Consumption Poverty in Canada, 1969 to 1998
Abstract
In this paper, I estimate the poverty rate as the proportion of individuals who have consumption - rather than income - lower than an absolute poverty line. The absolute poverty line used is based on the expenditure necessary to achieve a minimum level of material well-being. It does not change over time with changing social values as do relative poverty lines. Consumption is used because consumption levels are chosen by households with some knowledge of future and past incomes, and may thus be a better indicator of material well-being than income. Here, consumption is adjusted for differences in the prices faced by, and demographic characteristics of, different households.The story told by consumption poverty measures is mixed. As with income poverty measures, the consumption poverty rate declined over the 1970s and 1980s - all boats rose in the rising tide. However, the 1990s tell a different story. The consumption poverty rate increased by more than half between 1992 and 1998. Outcomes for children were even worse. The rate of consumption poverty among children more than doubled between 1992 and 1998.Download Info
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Bibliographic Info
Article provided by University of Toronto Press in its journal Canadian Public Policy.
Volume (Year): 27 (2001)
Issue (Month): 2 (June)
Pages: 125-149
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References listed on IDEASPlease report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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Citations
Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.Cited by:
- Kevin Milligan, 2007.
"The Evolution of Elderly Poverty in Canada,"
Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Research Papers
170, McMaster University.
- Kevin Milligan, 2008. "The Evolution of Elderly Poverty in Canada," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 34(s1), pages 79-94, November.
- Michael Hurd & Susann Rohwedder, 2006.
"Economic Well-Being at Older Ages: Income- and Consumption-Based Poverty Measures in the HRS,"
Working Papers
410, RAND Corporation Publications Department.
- Michael D. Hurd & Susann Rohwedder, 2006. "Economic Well-Being at Older Ages: Income- and Consumption-Based Poverty Measures in the HRS," NBER Working Papers 12680, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Michael R. Veall, 2008. "Canadian Seniors and the Low Income Measure," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 34(s1), pages 47-58, November.
- Don J. DeVoretz & Florin P. Vadean, 2008. "Cultural Differences in the Remittance Behaviour of Households: Evidence from Canadian Micro Data," Studies in Economics 0814, Department of Economics, University of Kent.
- Thomas F. Crossley & Krishna Pendakur, 2002. "Consumption Inequality," Department of Economics Working Papers 2002-09, McMaster University.
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