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TRENDS IN POVERTY IN THE UNITED STATES, 1967–84
Author(s) -
Blackburn McKinley L.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
review of income and wealth
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.024
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1475-4991
pISSN - 0034-6586
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-4991.1990.tb00261.x
Subject(s) - poverty , economics , distribution (mathematics) , development economics , poverty level , basic needs , affect (linguistics) , income distribution , demographic economics , economic growth , sociology , inequality , mathematics , mathematical analysis , communication
The sensitivity of movements in poverty to the method used in measuring poverty is examined. The use of various poverty indices, and of various ways of setting the poverty lines, does not affect the conclusion that poverty followed a U‐shaped pattern from 1967 to 1984. A model for a family's income/needs ratio is estimated and used to explore the factors that might lie behind this pattern. The results suggest that changes over time in the location of the income distribution are most relevant to the corresponding changes in poverty. Changes in the structure of families, and in labor supply within families, have also been relevant to recent movements in poverty.