IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/wop/wispod/1187-99.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Macroeconomic Performance and the Poverty Rate: A Return to Normalcy?

Author

Listed:
  • R. Haveman
  • Schwabish J.

Abstract

Since the mid-1980s, several important studies have established the statistical relationship between the poverty rate and overall economic performance. Most of these studies focused on the apparent break in this relationship beginning in the late 1970s or early 1980s. In this paper, we present the results of our study of the relationships reported in these studies, using annual time-series data on macroeconomic variables such as the unemployment rate and per capita GDP growth from 1959 through 1997. Like these earlier studies, we too find that economic performance seems to have had a smaller antipoverty effect during the 1970s and 1980s than it did in earlier years. However, our estimates suggest that the weakened growth-poverty relationship may have been an aberration of this period, and that the “normal” relationship of the 1960s has again been reestablished in the 1990s. This is true even after accounting for changes in earnings inequality over the entire period.

Suggested Citation

  • R. Haveman & Schwabish J., "undated". "Macroeconomic Performance and the Poverty Rate: A Return to Normalcy?," Institute for Research on Poverty Discussion Papers 1187-99, University of Wisconsin Institute for Research on Poverty.
    • Handle: RePEc:wop:wispod:1187-99
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/dps/pdfs/dp118799.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rebecca M. Blank & Alan S. Blinder, 1985. "Macroeconomics, Income Distribution, and Poverty," NBER Working Papers 1567, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Rebecca M. Blank & David Card, 1993. "Poverty, Income Distribution, and Growth: Are They Still Connected," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 24(2), pages 285-340.
    3. Levy, Frank & Murnane, Richard J, 1992. "U.S. Earnings Levels and Earnings Inequality: A Review of Recent Trends and Proposed Explanations," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 30(3), pages 1333-1381, September.
    4. David M. Cutler & Lawrence F. Katz, 1991. "Macroeconomic Performance and the Disadvantaged," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 22(2), pages 1-74.
    5. Elizabeth T. Powers, 1995. "Growth and poverty revisited," Economic Commentary, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, issue Apr.
    6. Lerman, Robert I, 1996. "The Impact of the Changing US Family Structure on Child Poverty and Income Inequality," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 63(250), pages 119-139, Suppl..
    7. James Tobin, 1993. "Poverty in Relation to Macroeconomic Trends, Cycles, and Policies," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 1030R, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jaynes, Gerald D., 2011. "Social Policy and U.S. Poverty 1960-1999: An Economic History," Working Papers 90, Yale University, Department of Economics.
    2. Katharine L. Bradbury, 2000. "Rising tide in the labor market: to what degree do expansions benefit the disadvantaged?," New England Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, issue May, pages 3-33.
    3. Yolanda Kodrzycki, 2000. "Discouraged and other marginally attached workers: evidence on their role in the labor market," New England Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, issue May, pages 35-40.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gebremeskel Gebremariam & Tesfa Gebremedhin & Randall Jackson, 2004. "The Role of Small Business in Economic Growth and Poverty Alleviation in West Virginia: An Empirical Analysis," Working Papers Working Paper 2004-10, Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University.
    2. Jaynes, Gerald D., 2011. "Social Policy and U.S. Poverty 1960-1999: An Economic History," Working Papers 90, Yale University, Department of Economics.
    3. James R. Hines & Hilary Hoynes & Alan B. Krueger, 2001. "Another Look at Whether a Rising Tide Lifts All Boats," Working Papers 833, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    4. Zyblock, Miles & Lin, Zhengxi & Zhengxi, Lin, 1997. "Trickling Down or Fizzling Out? Economic Performance, Transfers, Inequality and Low Income," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 1997110e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    5. Bruce D. Meyer & James X. Sullivan, 2011. "Consumption and Income Poverty Over the Business Cycle," Research in Labor Economics, in: Who Loses in the Downturn? Economic Crisis, Employment and Income Distribution, pages 51-82, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    6. Levernier, William & Partridge, Mark D. & Rickman, Dan S., 1998. "Differences in Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan U.S. Family Income Inequality: A Cross-County Comparison," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(2), pages 272-290, September.
    7. Note: For best results & the figures should be printed on a non-Postscript printer. Hoynes & H., "undated". "The Employment, Earnings, and Income of Less-Skilled Workers over the Business Cycle," Institute for Research on Poverty Discussion Papers 1199-99, University of Wisconsin Institute for Research on Poverty.
    8. Lídia Farré & Francis Vella, 2008. "Macroeconomic Conditions and the Distribution of Income in Spain," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 22(3), pages 383-410, September.
    9. Sharpe, Andrew & Zyblock, Myles, 1997. "Macroeconomic performance and income distribution in Canada," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 167-199.
    10. Christina D. Romer & David Romer, 1999. "Monetary policy and the well-being of the poor," Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, vol. 84(Q I), pages 21-49.
    11. Gundersen, Craig & LeBlanc, Michael & Kuhn, Betsey A., 1999. "The Changing Food Assistance Landscape: The Food Stamp Program in a Post-Welfare Reform Environment," Agricultural Economic Reports 33993, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    12. R. D. Plotnick & E. Smolensky & E. Evenhouse & S. Reilly, "undated". "The Twentieth Century Record of Inequality and Poverty in the United States," Institute for Research on Poverty Discussion Papers 1166-98, University of Wisconsin Institute for Research on Poverty.
    13. Dickens & David T. Ellwood, 2004. "Whither Poverty in Great Britain and the United States? The Determinants of Changing Poverty and Whether Work Will Work," NBER Chapters, in: Seeking a Premier Economy: The Economic Effects of British Economic Reforms, 1980–2000, pages 313-370, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Gundersen, Craig & Yanez, Mara & Valdes, Constanza & Kuhn, Betsey A., 2002. "A Comparison Of Food Assistance Programs In Mexico And The United States," Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Reports 33859, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    15. Mary C. Daly & Robert G. Valletta, 2000. "Changing Family Behavior and the U.S. Income Distribution," Econometric Society World Congress 2000 Contributed Papers 1640, Econometric Society.
    16. Kayode E. Bowale & Afred O. Ilesanmi, 2014. "Determinants of Factors Influencing Capacity of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Employment Creation in Lagos State, Nigeria," International Journal of Financial Research, International Journal of Financial Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 5(2), pages 133-141, April.
    17. Attanasio, Orazio & Davis, Steven J, 1996. "Relative Wage Movements and the Distribution of Consumption," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(6), pages 1227-1262, December.
    18. Marianne Bitler & Hilary Hoynes & Elira Kuka, 2017. "Child Poverty, the Great Recession, and the Social Safety Net in the United States," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(2), pages 358-389, March.
    19. James Hines & Hilary Hoynes & Alan Krueger, 2001. "Another Look at Whether a Rising Tide Lifts All Boats," Working Papers 833, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    20. Austan Goolsbee, 1998. "It's Not About the Money: Why Natural Experiments Don't Work on the Rich," NBER Working Papers 6395, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wop:wispod:1187-99. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Thomas Krichel (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iruwius.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.