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THE POLITICS OF MEASURING POVERTY AMONG THE ELDERLY
Author(s) -
Girshick Lori B.,
Williamson John B.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
policy studies journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.773
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1541-0072
pISSN - 0190-292X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1541-0072.1982.tb00699.x
Subject(s) - politics , poverty , political science , law
We discuss the special problems associated with efforts to measure poverty among the elderly. Income measures must be adjusted for a variety of non‐income sources of well‐being such as net worth, human capital, and in‐kind, transfers. While such adjustments are needed, efforts to date are problematic to the extent that new sources of error are introduced. A close analysis of official government measures of poverty reveals that they reflect a variety of political assumptions and compromises. Examination of the eligibility criteria associated with various government social programs for the elderly reveal implicit poverty lines that differ from the official poverty lines. The importance of these operational poverty lines cannot be overestimated.