CONSUMPTION-BASED POVERTY IN THE UNITED STATES: NEW EVIDENCE AND A TEST FOR ROBUSTNESS

Abstract

This paper evaluates consumption-based poverty in the United States using Consumer Expenditure Survey data. The poverty measures rest upon micro-theoretic foundations of utility maximizing behavior and a complete demand system. The Translog model (Christensen et al., 1975) is used to replicate and extend Slesnick’s (1993) measures of poverty into the late 1990s. Consumption-based poverty analysis is extended by computing Sen (1976) indexes, which provide more complete measures of poverty than simple headcount ratios. The robustness of Slesnick’s results is tested under alternative assumptions concerning shares of services between housing and other durables across time.

Citation

Luo, F. (2004), "CONSUMPTION-BASED POVERTY IN THE UNITED STATES: NEW EVIDENCE AND A TEST FOR ROBUSTNESS", Bishop, J.A. and Amiel, Y. (Ed.) Studies on Economic Well-Being: Essays in the Honor of John P. Formby (Research on Economic Inequality, Vol. 12), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 363-393. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1049-2585(04)12015-2