The “Inability to be Self‐Reliant” as an Indicator of Poverty: Trends for the U.S., 1975–97

Abstract

In this paper we present a new concept of poverty, Self-Reliant poverty, which is based on the ability of a family, using its own resources, to support a level of consumption in excess of needs. This concept closely parallels the ''capability poverty'' measure that has been proposed by Amartya Sen. We use this measure to examine the trend and composition of the Self-Reliant poor population from 1975 to 1997. We find that Self-Reliant poverty has increased more rapidly over this period than has official poverty. Families considered to be the most vulnerable-those headed by minorities, single women with children, and individuals with low levels of education-have the highest levels of Self-Reliant poverty. However, these groups have also experienced the smallest increases in poverty. Conversely, families largely thought to be economically secure-those headed by whites, married men with children, and highly educated individuals-have the lowest levels of Self-Reliant poverty, but have experienced the largest increases in poverty. We also find that the Self-Reliant poor is increasingly composed of vulnerable groups relative to the composition of the official poor. The labor market, demographic, and policy sources of the divergent trends in Self-Reliant and official poverty, and of the gender, race and family structure changes in poverty rates are explored.

Asset Poverty in the United States, 1984–99: Evidence From the Panel Study of Income Dynamics

“…An individual is Self- 5 Triest (1998) reports that the level of consumption poverty estimated by Jorgenson and Slesnick depends crucially on the equivalence scales used and that the scales they use take unreasonable values. 6 Haveman and Bershadker (2001). Two prior studies that have used measures of earnings capacity are Garfinkel and Haveman (1977) and Haveman and Bershadker (1998).…”

Asset Poverty in the United States, 1984-1999: Evidence from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics

“…An individual is Self- 5 Triest (1998) reports that the level of consumption poverty estimated by Jorgenson and Slesnick depends crucially on the equivalence scales used and that the scales they use take unreasonable values. 6 Haveman and Bershadker (2001). Two prior studies that have used measures of earnings capacity are Garfinkel and Haveman (1977) and Haveman and Bershadker (1998).…”

“…Haveman and Bershadker (2001) estimate earnings capacity using individual and family characteristics such as age, education, marital status, region of residence and non-labor income, controlling for selection bias. Their results are revealing.…”

El efecto de la estructura social sobre el gasto en atención a la discapacidad

“…Como pasa también alrededor de la definición de pobreza, el uso de un indicador u otro no es un hecho banal ni neutro, puesto que los resultados variarán en función de la elección (De la Cal, 2009). Como ejemplo, Haveman y Bershadker (2001) proponen utilizar la incapacidad para ser autosuficientes como indicador de pobreza y desde una visión más multidimensional, Gordon (2005) propone incluir en el concepto de pobreza aspectos como el hambre, la malnutrición, la mala salud, el acceso a servicios básicos, la vivienda inadecuada o la falta de vivienda, los entornos inseguros, la discriminación social o la exclusión en la toma de decisiones o de la sociedad civil.…”