In-Work Poverty in the United States

Lane Kenworthy () and Ive Marx

No 10638, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: In-work poverty became a prominent policy issue in the United States long before the term itself acquired any meaning and relevance in other industrialized countries. With America's embrace of an employment-centered antipoverty strategy, the working poor have become even more of an issue. This paper reviews some key trends, drivers and policy issues. How much in-work poverty is there in the United States? How does the US compare to other rich democracies? Has America's in-work poverty rate changed over time? Who are the in-work poor? What are the main drivers of levels and changes in in-work poverty? Finally, what are the prospects for America's working poor going forward?

Keywords: United States; poverty; employment; wages (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 26 pages
Date: 2017-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hme and nep-pke
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

Published - published in: Lohmann, H. and I. Marx (eds), Handbook on In-Work Poverty, Edward Elgar, 2019

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