Counting the Poor: New Thinking About European Poverty Measures and Lessons for the United States

The poverty rate is one of the most visible ways in which nations measure the economic well-being of their low-income citizens. To gauge whether a person is poor, European states often focus on a person's relative position in the income distribution to measure poverty while the United States looks at a fixed-income threshold that represents a lower relative standing in the overall distribution to gauge. In Europe, low income is perceived as only one aspect of being socially excluded, so that examining other relative dimensions of family and individual welfare is important. This broad emphasis on relative measures of well-being that extend into non-pecuniary aspects of people's lives does not always imply that more people would ultimately be counted as poor. This is particularly true if one must be considered poor in multiple dimensions to be considered poor, in sharp contrast to the American emphasis on income as the sole dimension. With contributions from the world's foremost authorities on income and social measurement, the book provides detailed discussions of specific issues from a European perspective followed by commentary from American observers. The volume considers (1) current standards of poverty measurement in the European Union and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, (2) challenges in extending those measures to account for the value of the provision of in-kind and cash benefits from the government, (3) the interaction of poverty measures with social assistance, (4) non-income but monetary measures of poverty, and (5) multi-dimensional measures of poverty. The result is a definitive reference for poverty researchers and policymakers seeking to disengage politics from measurement. Available in OSO: Contributors to this volume - Richard Bavier Office of Management and Budget Washington, District of Columbia Douglas J. Besharov University of Maryland College Park, Maryland Andrea Brandolini Bank of Italy and Luxembourg Wealth Study Rome, Italy Richard V. Burkhauser Cornell University Ithaca, New York Bea Cantillon University of Antwerp Antwerp, Belgium Kenneth A. Couch University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut Carlo del Ninno The World Bank Washington, District of Columbia Michael F. Forster OECD Paris, France Joachim R. Frick DIW Berlin Berlin, Germany Neil Gilbert University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California Markus M. Grabka DIW Berlin Berlin, Germany Margaret Grosh The World Bank Washington, District of Columbia Bruce Headey Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research Melbourne, Australia Herwig Immervoll OECD Paris, France David S. Johnson U.S. Census Bureau Washington, District of Columbia Peter Krause DIW Berlin Berlin, Germany Peter Lanjouw The World Bank Washington, District of Columbia Silvia Magri Bank of Italy Rome, Italy Isabelle Maquet Social Protection Committee European Commission Brussels, Belgium Eric Marlier CEPS/INSTEAD Research Institute Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg Marco Mira d'Ercole OECD Paris, France Brian Nolan University College Dublin Dublin, Ireland Timothy M. Smeeding University of Wisconsin-Madison and Luxembourg Wealth Study Madison, Wisconsin David Stanton Social Protection Committee European Commission Richmond, United Kingdom Holly Sutherland ISER Essex, United Kingdom Emil Tesliuc The World Bank Washington, District of Columbia Panos Tsakloglou Athens University Athens, Greece Karel Van den Bosch University of Antwerp Antwerp, Belgium Tim Van Rie University of Antwerp Antwerp, Belgium Gert G. Wagner DIW Berlin Berlin, Germany Christopher T. Whelan ESRI Dublin Dublin, Ireland