The Impacts of Unemployment on Alternative Poverty Rates

Robert H. DeFina

Review of Income and Wealth, 2004, vol. 50, issue 1, 69-85

Abstract: The analysis uses March Current Population Survey data to estimate state‐level cross‐section/time‐series models of the effects of the unemployment rate on alternative poverty rates. The measures include the official headcount rate, and alternatives based higher thresholds, revised equivalence scales and income defined as inclusive and exclusive of taxes and cash and in‐kind transfers. The estimated effects turn critically on the measurement approaches, both for the total sample population and for four population sub‐groups. For several alternative poverty rate measures, the unemployment rate has no significant impact on poverty. By contrast, real per‐capita median earnings have strong and consistently negative effects on the poverty rates of all groups studied. The findings thus provide important lessons for researchers exploring the links between economic conditions and poverty, and for policy makers developing poverty reduction strategies.

Date: 2004
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0034-6586.2004.00112.x

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:revinw:v:50:y:2004:i:1:p:69-85

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.blackwell ... bs.asp?ref=0034-6586

Access Statistics for this article

Review of Income and Wealth is currently edited by Conchita D'Ambrosio and Robert J. Hill

More articles in Review of Income and Wealth from International Association for Research in Income and Wealth Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().