Despite serious methodological problems, quantitative studies of poverty by U.S. sociologists predominantly rely on the official U.S. measure. After reviewing the shortcomings of the official measure, this paper examines several econometric and theoretical advances in poverty measurement. In...

Sociologists and other social scientists in rich countries have long been concerned with economic and social deprivation. This entry addresses both the nature and causes of poverty from a sociological perspective and the way that sociologists and social scientists have measured poverty in...