An official website of the United States government
Here’s how you know
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
The United States Census Bureau has been compiling income estimates annually since 1947, while formal measurement of poverty in the United States is less than three decades old. When considering the adequacy of the official poverty thresholds, it is critical to realize that one cannot separate the issue of income measurement from poverty definition. When one defines the level of resources needed to be non-poor, one must also determine which resources are to be counted. Therefore, the discussion in this paper covers both income measurement and poverty definition issues. This paper discusses alternative definitions of income and considerations in measuring poverty. The paper concludes with a review of Census Bureau poverty research.
Share
Related Information
WORKING PAPER
Supplemental Poverty Measure Working PapersSome content on this site is available in several different electronic formats. Some of the files may require a plug-in or additional software to view.
Top