Despite serious methodological problems, quantitative studies of poverty by US sociologists
predominantly rely on the official US. measure. After reviewing the shortcomings of the US …

In this chapter, I examine the complexities and idiosyncrasies of poverty measurement from
its origins to current practice. I begin with the various concepts of poverty and their …

The official US government figures showed an increase in the poverty rate from 11.1 percent
in 1973 to 13.8 percent in 1995. However, some maintain that this upward trend is due to …

This article discusses the contribution American social scientists have made to the study of
poverty over the past 25 years as viewed from a comparative perspective. It has two parts …

Should poverty be measured using an" absolute" or a" relative" approach? This age-old
question in poverty measurement is once again on the agenda, due to the ambitious pro …

The nature and prevalence of poverty have been topics of intense political debate since the
concept was first officially defined and measured by the federal government in the early …

This article discusses the theoretical underpinnings of different types of income poverty
measures—absolute, relative, and a National Academy of Sciences (NAS)" quasi-relative" …

Each year's poverty figures are anxiously awaited by policymakers, analysts, and the media.
Yet questions are increasing about the 30-year-old measure as social and economic …

Reviewing recent research on poverty in the United States, we derive a conceptual
framework with three main characteristics. First, poverty is multidimensional, compounding …

A comparative analysis of different poverty measures, particularly across studies that use
different conceptualizations and measurements of poverty, is very valuable. In highlighting …