Measuring Poverty : A New Approach

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.