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Presidential address: How to improve poverty measurement in the United States

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Author Info

  • Rebecca M. Blank

    (University of Michigan)

Abstract

This paper discusses the reasons why the current official U.S. poverty measure is outdated and nonresponsive to many anti-poverty initiatives. A variety of efforts to update and improve the statistic have failed, for political, technical, and institutional reasons. Meanwhile, the European Union is taking a very different approach to poverty measurement. The paper ends with four recommended steps that would allow the U.S. to improve its measurement of poverty and economic need.

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File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1002/pam.20323
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Bibliographic Info

Article provided by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. in its journal Journal of Policy Analysis and Management.

Volume (Year): 27 (2008)
Issue (Month): 2 ()
Pages: 233-254

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Handle: RePEc:wly:jpamgt:v:27:y:2008:i:2:p:233-254

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Web page: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/34787/home

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References

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  1. Bruce D. Meyer & James X. Sullivan, 2003. "Measuring the Well-Being of the Poor Using Income and Consumption," NBER Working Papers 9760, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  2. Timothy Smeeding, 2006. "Poor People in Rich Nations: The United States in Comparative Perspective," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(1), pages 69-90, Winter.
  3. Notten, Geranda & Neubourg, Chris de, 2007. "Relative or absolute poverty in the US and EU? The battle of the rates," MPRA Paper 5313, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 15 May 2007.
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Citations

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Cited by:
  1. Michelle Livermore & Rebecca Powers & Belinda Davis & Younghee Lim, 2011. "Failing to Make Ends Meet: Dubious Financial Success Among Employed Former Welfare to Work Program Participants," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 73-83, March.
  2. Ravallion, Martin & Chen, Shaohua, 2009. "Weakly relative poverty," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4844, The World Bank.
  3. Joo, Myungkook, 2011. "Effects of federal programs on children: Absolute poverty, relative poverty, and income inequality," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(7), pages 1203-1211, July.
  4. Shawn Fremstad, 2012. "Married … without Means: Poverty and Economic Hardship Among Married Americans," CEPR Reports and Issue Briefs 2012-26, Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR).
  5. Anthony, Elizabeth K. & King, Bryn & Austin, Michael J., 2011. "Reducing child poverty by promoting child well-being: Identifying best practices in a time of great need," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(10), pages 1999-2009, October.
  6. Andrea Brandolini & Silvia Magri & Timothy M. Smeeding, 2010. "Asset-based measurement of poverty," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 755, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
  7. Drake, Brett & Rank, Mark R., 2009. "The racial divide among American children in poverty: Reassessing the importance of neighborhood," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(12), pages 1264-1271, December.
  8. Krishna, Anirudh & Shariff, Abusaleh, 2011. "The Irrelevance of National Strategies? Rural Poverty Dynamics in States and Regions of India, 1993-2005," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 533-549, April.
  9. Kenneth A. Couch & Maureen A. Pirog, 2010. "Poverty measurement in the U.S., Europe, and developing countries," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(2), pages 217-226.

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