Recent Developments for Poverty Measurement in U.S. Official Statistics

David M. Betson, Constance F. Citro, and Robert T. Michael

Abstract:
The Panel on Poverty and Family Assistance of the U.S. Committee on National Statistics was charged to review the U.S. measure of poverty. (The U.S.A. is one of the few countries with an official poverty measure.) In its report issued in spring 1995, the panel recommended a revised measure for use in official statistics. The panel's proposed measure revises both the poverty threshold, or standard of need, and the definition of family resources to compare to the threshold to determine poverty status. This article summarizes the panel's recommendations, presents revised estimates of their effects, and briefly describes research stimulated by the panel's report, leading to a recent publication by the U.S. Census Bureau on experimental poverty measures for research use.

Keywords:
Income; inequality.