Article

Improving the Measurement of Poverty

Mark Greenberg and Rebecca Blank recommend the adoption of a new poverty measure, along the lines recommended by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), in order to provide a more accurate measure of economic need in the United States.

The authors recommend the adoption of a new poverty measure, along the lines recommended by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), in order to provide a more accurate measure of economic need in the United States. The current poverty measure relies on 1955 data and a methodology developed in the early 1960s. The current measure is not sensitive to changes in tax policy, in-kind benefits, work expenses, or medical payments; all of these have changed substantially over the years and affect the well-being of low-income families. The authors indicate why the NAS approach is superior to other possibilities and discuss the specific decisions that must be made to effectively implement a new poverty measure. They present data that indicate how such a change could affect poverty rates. They recommend a new NAS study to develop a measure for a “decent living standard” at a level above the poverty level, and recommend additional federal data collection and research.

Read more here.

The positions of American Progress, and our policy experts, are independent, and the findings and conclusions presented are those of American Progress alone. A full list of supporters is available here. American Progress would like to acknowledge the many generous supporters who make our work possible.