Measuring poverty : a new approach / / Constance F. Citro and Robert T. Michael, editors ; Panel on Poverty and Family Assistance: Concepts, Information Needs, and Measurement Methods ... [et al.]

• Pubblicazione: Washington, D.C., : National Academy Press, c1995
• Edizione: 1st ed.
• Descrizione fisica: xviii, 501 p. : ill
• Disciplina: 362.5/2/015195
• Soggetto topico: Poverty - United States - Statistical methods
• Altri autori: CitroConstance F <1942-> (Constance Forbes) MichaelRobert T
• Note generali: Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references (p. 449-482) and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Measuring Poverty -- Copyright -- Acknowledgments -- Contents -- Preface -- Summary and Recommendations -- THE CURRENT POVERTY MEASURE: EVALUATION -- RECOMMENDATION: A NEW POVERTY MEASURE -- SETTING AND UPDATING THE POVERTY THRESHOLD -- ADJUSTING THE THRESHOLD -- DEFINING FAMILY RESOURCES -- EFFECTS -- NEEDED DATA -- OTHER ISSUES IN POVERTY MEASUREMENT -- RELATING THE POVERTY MEASURE TO ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS -- 1 Introduction and Overview -- WHAT IS POVERTY? -- THE OFFICIAL U.S. POVERTY MEASURE -- Development of the Measure -- Adequacy of the Current Measure -- Work Patterns of Families with Children -- Composition of Families and Households -- Geographic Differences in Prices -- Increases in Medical Care Costs and Benefits -- Taxes -- Provision of In-Kind Benefits -- Increase in the Standard of Living -- ALTERNATIVE POVERTY MEASURES AND CRITERIA FOR A MEASURE -- Types of Poverty Thresholds -- Absolute and Relative Thresholds -- Expert Budgets: The U.S. Experience -- Other Approaches -- Definitions of Family Resources -- Criteria for a Poverty Measure -- Public Acceptability -- Statistical Defensibility -- Operational Feasibility -- A NEW APPROACH TO POVERTY MEASUREMENT: RECOMMENDATIONS -- A New Poverty Measure -- Periodic Reviews -- The Poverty Threshold -- Updating the Thresholds -- Threshold Concepts: Assessment -- Recommended Threshold Concept and Updating -- Setting the Initial Threshold -- Adjusting the Thresholds-Equivalence Scale -- Adjusting the Thresholds-Geographic Variations -- Defining Family Resources -- In-Kind Benefits-Nonmedical -- Medical Care Costs -- Taxes -- Work-Related Expenses -- Child Support Payments -- Services from Home Ownership -- Assets -- Effects -- Distributional Effects -- Effects of Selected Components -- Effects on the Poverty Rate -- Time Trends -- Needed Data -- Other Issues in Poverty Measurement. ; Time Period -- Unit of Analysis -- Other Measures -- USE OF THE POVERTY MEASURE IN GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS -- The Poverty Measure and Program Eligibility -- Need Standards for Programs That Use the Official Measure -- Need Standards for AFDC -- The Poverty Measure and AFDC Benefit Standards -- 2 Poverty Thresholds -- THRESHOLD CONCEPTS -- RECOMMENDATIONS -- The Two-Adult/Two-Child Reference Family -- Nondiscretionary Expenses -- Updating the Thresholds -- Setting the Initial Threshold -- EXPERT BUDGETS -- Multiplier Approaches -- The Original U.S. Poverty Thresholds -- The Orshansky Multiplier over Time -- Other Multiplier Approaches -- Categorical Approaches -- Detailed Budget Approaches -- York Family Budget Unit -- BLS Family Budgets Program -- Schwarz and Volgy Budget -- Conclusions -- Updating for Price Changes -- RELATIVE THRESHOLDS -- International Examples -- U.S. Expert Committee on Family Budget Revisions -- Issues in Deriving Relative Thresholds -- Behavior of Relative Thresholds Over Time -- SUBJECTIVE THRESHOLDS -- Research Findings -- Behavior of Subjective Thresholds Over Time -- CONCLUSIONS -- IMPLEMENTING THE PROPOSED APPROACH -- Setting the Initial Threshold -- Analysis of 1989-1991 CEX Data -- The Basic Bundle -- The Multiplier -- The Basic Bundle and Multiplier Together -- Comparison with Other Thresholds -- Analysis Over Time -- Further Evaluation -- 3 Adjusting Poverty Thresholds -- ADJUSTMENTS BY FAMILY TYPE -- The Concept of an Equivalence Scale -- Overview and Recommendation -- The Current Equivalence Scale -- Alternative Equivalence Scales -- Programmatic Equivalence Scales -- Behavioral Scales -- The Engel and Iso-Prop Methods -- The Rothbarth and Other Methods -- Subjective Scales -- Recommended Procedure -- ADJUSTMENTS BY GEOGRAPHIC AREA -- Overview and Recommendations -- Feasibility and Desirability. ; Research Findings on Price Differences -- Estimating Geographic Variations in Housing Costs -- HUD Fair Market Rents -- BLS Family Budgets Program -- Hedonic Models -- Discussion -- Recommended Approach -- Updating the Housing Cost Index -- Further Research -- 4 Defining Resources -- OVERVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION -- ALTERNATIVES FOR DEFINING RESOURCES -- Resources as Disposable Income -- Adjusting Income, Not Thresholds -- Recommendation -- Resources as Consumption or Expenditures -- Rationale -- Implications -- Assessment -- A Crisis Definition of Resources -- Methodological and Measurement Issues -- Implications -- Assessment -- PROPOSED RESOURCE DEFINITION -- Money Income -- Nonmedical In-Kind Benefits -- Census Bureau Valuation Procedures -- Assessment of Valuation Approaches -- Needed Research and Development -- Medical Care Needs and Resources -- Proposed Approach: Recommendation -- Alternative Approaches -- Current Poverty Measure -- Adding Health Insurance Benefits to Income -- A Comprehensive Single Index -- A Two-Index Poverty Measure -- Separate Measures of Medical Care Risk and Economic Poverty -- Taxes -- Census Bureau Tax Estimation Procedures -- Assessment -- Work-Related Expenses -- Child Care -- Other Work-Related Expenses -- Child Support Payments -- Home Ownership Services -- 5 Effects of the Proposed Poverty Measure -- DATA AND PROCEDURES -- Poverty Measure Alternatives -- Threshold Adjustments -- Imputation Procedures for Proposed Resource Definition -- In-Kind Benefit Values and Taxes -- Out-of-Pocket Medical Care Expenditures -- Child Care Expenses -- Other Work-Related Expenses -- Distribution of Imputed Values -- RESULTS -- Effects with a Constant Poverty Rate -- Effects with a New Threshold -- The Overall Rate -- Groups -- Marginal Effects -- Equivalence Scale Effects -- Accuracy of Medical Care Expense Imputations. ; Prior Income Years -- Data and Procedures -- Results -- Poverty Rates Using SIPP -- DATA SOURCES -- Recommendations -- Data Sources for Income -- The March CPS -- The Alternative of SIPP -- Orienting SIPP to Poverty Measurement -- Transition -- Research Recommendations -- Income Data in Other Surveys -- Income Data in the Decennial Census -- Expenditure Data -- 6 Other Issues in Measuring Poverty -- TIME PERIOD -- Recommendation -- Short-Term Measures -- Long-Term Measures -- UNIT OF ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION -- Unit of Analysis -- Recommendations -- Discussion -- Unit of Presentation -- INDEXES OF POVERTY -- Recommendation -- Alternative Indexes -- Indexes with Alternative Resource Definitions -- THE LIMITED SCOPE OF MEASURING ECONOMIC POVERTY -- 7 Use of the Poverty Measure in Government Assistance Programs -- RECOMMENDATION -- GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS -- Overview -- Determining Income Eligibility: Selected Programs -- Head Start -- School Nutrition Programs -- WIC -- Food Stamps -- USING THE PROPOSED POVERTY MEASURE -- The Thresholds -- The Family Resource Definition -- Simplified Determination of Disposable Income -- Full Determination of Disposable Income -- Other Issues -- 8 The Poverty Measure and AFDC -- DETERMINING PROGRAM BENEFIT LEVELS -- Proposals for AFDC Minimum Benefits: A Brief History -- The Matching Formula -- A Supplementary Program with a National Benefit Standard-Food Stamps -- A National Minimum Benefit Standard for AFDC -- Issues in Program Benefit Design -- Budget Constraints -- Targeting Strategies and Preferences -- Program Interactions -- Program Incentives -- Work Effects -- Family Structure Decisions -- Migration Effects -- Summary -- Federal-State Cost Sharing -- Summary -- DETERMINING STATE AFDC STANDARDS OF NEED -- Recommendation -- Program Regulations -- Standard Setting in the 1970s. ; Standard Setting in the 1980s -- Differences Among States -- Differences in Need Standards and Benefits -- Differences in Equivalence Scales -- Trends in Need Standards and Benefits -- Conclusions -- Comparative Advantage of the Proposed Poverty Measure -- Problematic Aspects of the Proposed Poverty Measure -- Program Interactions -- Implications of Updating for Costs and Caseloads -- Effects of Updating on Program Incentives -- Summary -- APPENDICES -- APPENDIX A Dissent -- MEASURING THE POVERTY LINE -- UPDATING THE POVERTY LINE -- CHOOSING A RANGE FOR THE POVERTY LINE -- MEASURING FAMILY RESOURCES: THE ISSUE OF MEDICAL CARE -- CONCLUSION -- REFERENCES -- APPENDIX B Data Sources for Measuring Poverty -- MAJOR FEATURES OF THE CEX, MARCH CPS, PSID, AND SIPP -- Consumer Expenditure Survey -- Design and Use -- Content of the Interview Survey -- CPS March Income Supplement -- Design -- Content -- Panel Study of Income Dynamics -- Design -- Content -- Survey of Income and Program Participation -- Design -- Content -- Summary Comparisons -- Quality of Income Data -- THE MARCH CPS AND SIPP COMPARED -- Categories of Information -- Taxes -- Nonmedical In-Kind Benefits -- Medical Benefits/Costs -- Child Care and Other Work Expenses -- Child Support Payments -- Asset Holdings -- Ability to Support Other Estimates -- Shorter or Longer Term Measures -- State Estimates -- Related Measures -- Quality of Income Data -- Population Undercoverage -- Household and Person Nonresponse -- Item Nonresponse -- Other Sources of Error -- Aggregate Comparisons -- APPENDIX C The Interdependence of Time and Money -- ''TIME IS MONEY -- Illustration -- Expenditure Data -- Discussion -- RESEARCH APPROACHES -- Time Poor: A Measurement -- Calculating Earnings Capacity -- CONCLUSION -- APPENDIX D Assistance Programs for People with Low-Incomes. ; PROGRAMS THAT TIE ELIGIBILITY TO THE POVERTY GUIDELINES.
• Sommario/riassunto: Each year's poverty figures are anxiously awaited by policymakers, analysts, and the media. Yet questions are increasing about the 30-year-old measure as social and economic conditions change. In Measuring Poverty a distinguished panel provides policymakers with an up-to-date evaluation of Concepts and procedures for deriving the poverty threshold, including adjustments for different family circumstances. Definitions of family resources. Procedures for annual updates of poverty measures. The volume explores specific issues underlying the poverty measure, analyzes the likely effects of any changes on poverty rates, and discusses the impact on eligibility for public benefits. In supporting its recommendations the panel provides insightful recognition of the political and social dimensions of this key economic indicator. Measuring Poverty will be important to government officials, policy analysts, statisticians, economists, researchers, and others involved in virtually all poverty and social welfare issues.
• Titolo autorizzato: Measuring poverty
• ISBN: 9786610193530; 9780309176842; 0309176840; 9781280193538; 1280193530; 9780309538480; 0309538483; 9780585022550; 0585022550
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Record Nr.: 9910960081503321
• Lo trovi qui: Univ. Federico II