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Poverty across the Life Cycle: Evidence from the PSID
Author(s) -
Rank Mark R.,
Hirschl Thomas A.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of policy analysis and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.898
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1520-6688
pISSN - 0276-8739
DOI - 10.1002/pam.1026
Subject(s) - poverty , panel study of income dynamics , life course approach , demographic economics , demography , sample (material) , early adulthood , psychology , economics , young adult , sociology , developmental psychology , economic growth , chemistry , chromatography
The likelihood of experiencing poverty at some point during the adult life cycle is estimated. Theseprobabilities are derived through a set of life tables built upon 25 waves of data from the Panel Study ofIncome Dynamics, and represent an alternative approach to studying poverty than prior empirical studies. Lifetable analyses are divided into early adulthood (ages 20–40), middle adulthood (ages40–60),and later adulthood (ages 60–80). The findings indicate that individualswithin the sample face a significant risk of poverty at some point during their adult lives, particularly duringthe early and later stages of adulthood. Duration tends to be relatively short (1 or 2 years), butonce poverty occurs, it is likely to occur again. Results also reveal the profound life‐course effectthat race, education, and gender have upon the likelihood of encountering poverty during the adult years.Several policy and research implications are discussed. © 2001 by the Association for Public PolicyAnalysis and Management.