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Measuring Poverty Subannually in the United States: A Methodology Note
Measuring Poverty Subannually in the United States: A Methodology Note
Working Paper Number SEHSD-WP-2023-18
Introduction
Rapid changes in the U.S. economy have made it increasingly important to be able to produce estimates of poverty on a timely and frequent basis. Despite the demand for current and frequent statistics, there is a lag between the reference period and annual publication of poverty statistics. This paper builds on existing studies combining the basic monthly Current Population Survey with the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC) to create a subannual measure of poverty with reference periods of 1, 3, and 4 months. I present subannual estimates of the Official Poverty Measure (OPM) and the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) for 2009-2022. I also examine various methodological issues around the design of a subannual poverty measure. I also present corroborating results from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) and the Household Pulse Survey (HPS). I suggest that a monthly poverty measure, to supplement annual statistics on poverty, may be appropriate for publication as a research series by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Related Information
WORKING PAPER
Supplemental Poverty Measure Working Papers
WORKING PAPER
Poverty Working Papers
Page Last Revised - May 15, 2023
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