IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cje/issued/v44y2011i1p88-106.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Viewpoint: Measuring the well-being of the poor with income or consumption: a Canadian perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Matthew Brzozowski
  • Thomas F. Crossley

Abstract

There is a long tradition of using consumption measures derived from Statistics Canada's household expenditures surveys to study material well-being, inequality, and poverty. We offer an introduction to this research. Income and consumption measures give different pictures of the patterns of material well-being in Canada, but the differences are not as large as in the US. We also provide a comparison to Meyer and Sullivan's results on data quality. Canadian expenditure surveys are of high quality. Unique aspects of these surveys (variation in quality control measures over time and the possibility of comparing to income tax data) provide important insights into the quality of survey data on income and consumption.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthew Brzozowski & Thomas F. Crossley, 2011. "Viewpoint: Measuring the well-being of the poor with income or consumption: a Canadian perspective," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 44(1), pages 88-106, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:cje:issued:v:44:y:2011:i:1:p:88-106
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-5982.2010.01624.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5982.2010.01624.x
    Download Restriction: access restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1540-5982.2010.01624.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Picot, Garnett & Green, David A. & Frenette, Marc, 2004. "Rising Income Inequality in the 1990s: An Exploration of Three Data Sources," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2004219e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    2. Marc Frenette & David A. Green & Kevin Milligan, 2007. "The tale of the tails: Canadian income inequality in the 1980s and 1990s," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 40(3), pages 734-764, August.
    3. Browning, Martin & Francois Bourguignon & Pierre-Andre Chiappori & Valerie Lechene, 1994. "Income and Outcomes: A Structural Model of Intrahousehold Allocation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(6), pages 1067-1096, December.
    4. Meyer, Bruce D. & Sullivan, James X., 2004. "The effects of welfare and tax reform: the material well-being of single mothers in the 1980s and 1990s," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(7-8), pages 1387-1420, July.
    5. Krishna Pendakur, 1998. "Changes In Canadian Family Income And Family Consumption Inequality Between 1978 And 1992," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 44(2), pages 259-282, June.
    6. James M. Poterba, 1994. "International Comparisons of Household Saving," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number pote94-1.
    7. Kapsalis, Costa, 2001. "An Assessment of EI and SA Reporting in SLID," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2001166e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    8. Matthew Brzozowski & Martin Gervais & Paul Klein & Michio Suzuki, 2010. "Consumption, Income, and Wealth Inequality in Canada," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 13(1), pages 52-75, January.
    9. Pendakur, Krishna, 2002. "Taking prices seriously in the measurement of inequality," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(1), pages 47-69, October.
    10. Christopher D. Carroll & Byung-Kun Rhee & Changyong Rhee, 1994. "Are There Cultural Effects on Saving? Some Cross-Sectional Evidence," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(3), pages 685-699.
    11. Martin D. Dooley, 1994. "The Converging Market Work Patterns of Married Mothers and Lone Mothers in Canada," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 29(2), pages 600-620.
    12. Richard Blundell & Alan Duncan & Krishna Pendakur, 1998. "Semiparametric estimation and consumer demand," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(5), pages 435-461.
    13. Bruce D. Meyer & James X. Sullivan, 2008. "Changes in the Consumption, Income, and Well-Being of Single Mother Headed Families," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(5), pages 2221-2241, December.
    14. Kevin Milligan, 2008. "The Evolution of Elderly Poverty in Canada," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 34(s1), pages 79-94, November.
    15. Krishna Pendakur, 2001. "Consumption Poverty in Canada, 1969 to 1998," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 27(2), pages 125-149, June.
    16. Thomas F. Crossley & Lori J. Curtis, 2006. "Child Poverty In Canada," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 52(2), pages 237-260, June.
    17. Gary V. Engelhardt, 1996. "Tax Subsidies and Household Saving: Evidence from Canada," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 111(4), pages 1237-1268.
    18. Shelley A. Phipps & Peter S. Burton, 1998. "What’s Mine is Yours? The Influence of Male and Female Incomes on Patterns of Household Expenditure," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 65(260), pages 599-613, November.
    19. Shelley A. Phipps, 1998. "What Is The Income "Cost Of A Child"? Exact Equivalence Scales For Canadian Two-Parent Families," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 80(1), pages 157-164, February.
    20. Fortin, Nicole M, 1995. "Heterogeneity Biases, Distributional Effects, and Aggregate Consumption," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 10(3), pages 287-311, July-Sept.
    21. Matthew Brzozowski, 2007. "Welfare Reforms and Consumption among Single Mother Households: Evidence from Canadian Provinces," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 33(2), pages 227-250, June.
    22. John Burbidge & James B. Davies, 1994. "Household Data on Saving Behavior in Canada," NBER Chapters, in: International Comparisons of Household Saving, pages 11-56, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    23. Rebecca N. Warburton & William P. Warburton, 2004. "Canada Needs Better Data for Evidence-Based Policy: Inconsistencies Between Administrative and Survey Data on Welfare Dependence and Education," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 30(3), pages 241-256, September.
    24. Isabel McWhinney & Harold E. Champion, 1974. "The Canadian Experience with Recall and Diary Methods in Consumer Expenditure Surveys," NBER Chapters, in: Annals of Economic and Social Measurement, Volume 3, number 2, pages 411-437, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Bruce D. Meyer & James X. Sullivan, 2011. "Viewpoint: Further results on measuring the well‐being of the poor using income and consumption," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(1), pages 52-87, February.
    2. Bev Dahlby & Kevin Milligan, 2017. "From theory to practice: Canadian economists’ contributions to public finance," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 50(5), pages 1324-1347, December.
    3. 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.
    4. Krishna Pendakur, 2018. "Welfare analysis when people are different," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 51(2), pages 321-360, May.
    5. Sule Alan & Kadir Atalay & Thomas F. Crossley, 2006. "Do the Rich Save More in Canada?," Quantitative Studies in Economics and Population Research Reports 406, McMaster University.
    6. Thomas F. Crossley & Krishna Pendakur, 2002. "Consumption Inequality," Department of Economics Working Papers 2002-09, McMaster University.
    7. Kevin Milligan, 2008. "The Evolution of Elderly Poverty in Canada," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 34(s1), pages 79-94, November.
    8. Robert V. Breunig & Rebecca J. McKibbin, 2012. "Income Pooling between Australian Young Adults and Their Parents," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 26(2), pages 235-265, June.
    9. Lori J. Curtis & JoAnn Kingston-Riechers, 2010. "Implications of the Introduction of the Goods and Services Tax for Families in Canada," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 36(4), pages 503-520, December.
    10. Anderson Vil, "undated". "Children Costs in a One-adult Household: Empirical Evidence from the UK," THEMA Working Papers 2024-08, THEMA (THéorie Economique, Modélisation et Applications), Université de Cergy-Pontoise.
    11. John B. Burbidge, 2004. "Tax‐deferred savings plans and interest deductibility," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(3), pages 757-767, August.
    12. Kevin Milligan, 2005. "Life‐cycle asset accumulation and allocation in Canada," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(3), pages 1057-1106, August.
    13. Sam Norris & Krishna Pendakur, 2015. "Consumption inequality in Canada, 1997 to 2009," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 48(2), pages 773-792, May.
    14. Sam Norris & Krishna Pendakur, 2013. "Imputing rent in consumption measures, with an application to consumption poverty in Canada, 1997-2009," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 46(4), pages 1537-1570, November.
    15. Jeremy Lise & Shannon Seitz, 2011. "Consumption Inequality and Intra-household Allocations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 78(1), pages 328-355.
    16. Matthias Keese, 2011. "Thrifty Wives and Lavish Husbands? – Bargaining Power and Financial Dicisions in Germany," Ruhr Economic Papers 0258, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    17. Xiangdan Piao, 2021. "Marriage Stability and Private Versus Shared Expenditures Within Families: Evidence from Japanese Families," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 153(2), pages 533-559, January.
    18. Lee, Jungmin, 2004. "Observable and Unobservable Household Sharing Rules: Evidence from Young Couples' Pocket Money," IZA Discussion Papers 1250, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Jens Bonke & Hans Uldall-Poulsen, 2007. "Why do families actually pool their income? Evidence from Denmark," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 5(2), pages 113-128, June.
    20. Frank T. Denton & Byron G. Spencer, 1998. "Economic Costs of Population Aging," Quantitative Studies in Economics and Population Research Reports 339, McMaster University.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • C81 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Microeconomic Data; Data Access

    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:cje:issued:v:44:y:2011:i:1:p:88-106. 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: Prof. Werner Antweiler (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ceaaaea.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.