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Identifying The Poor: Poverty Measurement For The U.S. From 1996 To 2005

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  • Thesia I. Garner
  • Kathleen S. Short

Abstract

The poverty measure presented compares spending needs to resources available to meet those needs. The analysis is for the U.S.; however, lessons from other countries regarding desirable properties of a poverty measure are considered. A primary focus is internal consistency between thresholds and resources. This study is among the first for the U.S. to describe an internally consistent poverty measure, drawing from recommendations of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Thresholds reflect spending needs as “outflows.” Resources measure “inflows” available to meet spending needs. The U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey is used for thresholds, and the Current Population Survey is the basis for resources. Trends are reported with comparisons to the official and a relative measure. An important finding is that increases in expenditures for shelter, captured in the NAS thresholds, suggest a greater increase in the number of families not able to meet basic needs than is reflected by official poverty statistics over this time period.

Suggested Citation

  • Thesia I. Garner & Kathleen S. Short, 2010. "Identifying The Poor: Poverty Measurement For The U.S. From 1996 To 2005," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 56(2), pages 237-258, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:revinw:v:56:y:2010:i:2:p:237-258
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-4991.2009.00374.x
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    2. Tiehen, Laura & Jolliffe, Dean & Gundersen, Craig, "undated". "Alleviating Poverty in the United States: The Critical Role of SNAP Benefits," Economic Research Report 262233, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    3. Sanders Korenman & Dahlia K. Remler & Rosemary T. Hyson, 2019. "Accounting for the Impact of Medicaid on Child Poverty," NBER Working Papers 25973, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Shatakshee Dhongde & Robert Haveman, 2017. "Multi-Dimensional Deprivation in the U.S," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 133(2), pages 477-500, September.
    5. Calvi, Rossella & Penglase, Jacob & Tommasi, Denni & Wolf, Alexander, 2023. "The more the poorer? Resource sharing and scale economies in large families," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    6. Shatakshee Dhongde & Robert Haveman, 2022. "Spatial and Temporal Trends in Multidimensional Poverty in the United States over the Last Decade," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 447-472, August.
    7. Andrea Cutillo, 2023. "The measurement of absolute poverty in Italy: an overview and a revision based on the database of real estate leases of the tax agency," RIEDS - Rivista Italiana di Economia, Demografia e Statistica - The Italian Journal of Economic, Demographic and Statistical Studies, SIEDS Societa' Italiana di Economia Demografia e Statistica, vol. 77(1), pages 4-12, January-M.
    8. Andrea Cutillo & Michele Raitano & Isabella Siciliani, 2022. "Income-Based and Consumption-Based Measurement of Absolute Poverty: Insights from Italy," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 161(2), pages 689-710, June.
    9. Achille Lemmi & Donatella Grassi & Alessandra Masi & Nicoletta Pannuzi & Andrea Regoli, 2019. "Methodological Choices and Data Quality Issues for Official Poverty Measures: Evidences from Italy," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 141(1), pages 299-330, January.

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