Experimental Poverty Measures

Since the mid-1990s, research within the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has focused on the development of new poverty thresholds. These thresholds are based on a 1995 National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report (Measuring Poverty: A New Approach, Citro and Michael 1995) and a 2010 Interagency Technical Working Group (ITWG) document with guidelines for Developing a Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) (PDF). Both documents refer to the U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) as the basis for new expenditure-based poverty thresholds. Research on NAS and SPM thresholds has been conducted within the Division of Price and Index Number Research since 1995.

As noted in the ITWG document, the NAS recommendations provide the framework for a definition of the SPM; however, research over the years has suggested modifications to those recommendations in a number of cases. These are noted in the ITWG document. The SPM is not intended to replace the official poverty measure but is to be considered a work in progress, with the expectation that there will be improvements to it over time. The ITWG noted that changes in the SPM over time are to be decided upon in a process lead by research economists, methodologists, and statisticians within the Census Bureau in consultation with BLS and with other appropriate data agencies and outside experts, and will be based on solid analytical evidence.

Both the NAS poverty measure and the SPM are experimental measures. As stated in the NAS report and again in the ITWG document, the role of the BLS is to conduct research on poverty thresholds and to provide these to the Census Bureau for use in its poverty measurement research.

The purpose of this web page is to provide access to recently produced expenditure-based poverty thresholds and many of the papers and presentations from this work. Much of the research was conducted in cooperation with Census Bureau staff and other academic researchers. The thresholds developed and described in the research articles, papers, and presentations are not produced using standard processing procedures at BLS. The Census Bureau website currently hosts the NAS experimental poverty thresholds and publications that focus on NAS and SPM poverty statistics. The SPM thresholds are posted on this website (see below).

On This Page

Disclaimer: The authors of some of these studies and presentations are not affiliated with BLS. This information is provided for your convenience and does not constitute an endorsement.

Poverty thresholds

Supplemental Poverty Thresholds are produced at the Bureau of Labor Statistics and were presented in table format for the first time on this web page in November 2011. The thresholds are for 2009 and 2010 and follow the guidelines of the ITWG; for comparison, the NAS-based and official poverty thresholds are also presented. The 2009 SPM thresholds have been presented in earlier research (Garner, 2011, Short, 2011). Thresholds are based on consumer unit spending for food, clothing, shelter and utilities (FCSU) and a multiplier to account for other basic goods and services, like those for personal care and non-work related transportation.

To produce annual SPM thresholds, for example for 2010, five years of quarterly U.S. Consumer Expenditure Interview Survey data are used; expenditure are updated to annual threshold year dollars using the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U). SPM thresholds are based on a range around the 33rd percentile of FCSU expenditures for the estimation sample. Unlike the earlier NAS-based thresholds that were based on spending by families with two adults and two children, the SPM estimation sample is composed of consumer units with two children and any number of adults. Equivalence scales are used to convert the estimation sample FCSU expenditures to those of the reference consumer unit composed of two adults with two children. Separate thresholds are produced for owners with mortgages, owners without mortgages, and renters. A time series of SPM thresholds from 2005 to 2010 are available, along with inputs for their derivation. The SPM housing tenure thresholds are produced using the equation below.

SPM i = 1.2 * FCSU A - (S + U) A + (S + U) i

i   Housing tenure groups:

Owners with mortgages
Owners without mortgages
Renters

A   refers to the estimation sample, within the 30th to 36th percentile range of FCSU expenditures, with FCSU expenditures converted to those for 2A + 2C without distinction by housing tenure

FCSU, S, and U  refer to the means of these expenditures across all estimation sample CUs within the 30th to 36th percentile range of FCSU

Information is available on the NAS experimental poverty thresholds presented in earlier years on the Census Bureau website; these thresholds are based on recommendations from the 1995 NAS report Measuring Poverty (NAS-based measure). These NAS thresholds were produced, under the auspices of the joint BLS-Census Bureau research project by Thesia I. Garner in collaboration with Kathleen S. Short of the Census Bureau.

Research papers

  • The Supplemental Poverty Measure: A Joint Project between the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (PDF)
    Kathleen S. Short, Census Bureau. Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics. June 8, 2012.

  • Supplemental Poverty Measure Thresholds: Imputing School Lunch and WIC Benefits to the Consumer Expenditure Survey Using Current Population Survey (PDF)
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Charles Hokayem, Census Bureau. July 2012.

  • Supplemental Poverty Measure Thresholds: Imputing Noncash Benefits to the Consumer Expenditure Survey Using Current Population Survey-Parts I and II (PDF)
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Charles Hokayem, Census Bureau. September 2011.

  • The Supplemental Poverty Measure: Examining the Incidence and Depth of Poverty in the U.S. Taking Account of Taxes and Transfers (PDF)
    Kathleen Short, Census Bureau. June 2011.

  • Supplemental Poverty Measure Thresholds: Laying the Foundation (PDF)
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2010.

  • Setting and Updating Modern Poverty Thresholds (PDF)
    BLS Working Papers. March 2010.
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics. David Betson, University of Notre Dame.

  • Housing and Poverty Thresholds: Different Potions for Different Notions (PDF)
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics. David Betson, University of Notre Dame. 2010.

  • Note on Standard Errors and Other Relevant Statistics of Experimental Poverty Thresholds Produced at the Bureau of Labor Statistics: 2006 to 2008 (PDF)
    BLS Working Papers. March 2010.
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

  • Identifying the Poor: Poverty Measurement for the U.S. from 1996 to 2005 (PDF)
    The Review of income and wealth, Volume 56, Issue 2, pages 237-258, June 2010.
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Kathleen S. Short, Census Bureau.

  • A Note on the Movement in Median FCSU Expenditures from 2006 to 2007 (PDF)
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2009.

  • Reconciling User Costs and Rental Equivalence: Evidence from the US Consumer Expenditure Survey (PDF 1.1 MB)
    Thesia I. Garner and Randal Verbrugge, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2008.

  • Creating a Consistent Poverty Measure over Time Using NAS Procedures: 1996-2005 (PDF)
    BLS Working Papers. April 2008.
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Kathleen S. Short, Census Bureau.

  • Comparing Approaches to Value Owner-Occupied Housing Using U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey Data (PDF)
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Uri Kogan, Northwestern University.

  • What Do We Know About the Value of Owner Occupied Housing Services? Rental Equivalence and Other Approaches (PDF)
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Kathleen S. Short, Census Bureau. Uri Kogan, Northwestern University.

  • Developing a New Poverty Line for the USA: Are There Lessons for India? (PDF)
    BLS Working Papers. March 2005.
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Kathleen S. Short, Census Bureau.

  • Personal Assessments of Minimum Income and Expenses: What Do They Tell Us about 'Minimum Living' Thresholds and Equivalence Scales? (PDF)
    BLS Working Papers. March 2005.
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Kathleen S. Short, Census Bureau.

  • The Role of Housing in Developing Poverty Thresholds 1993-2003 (PDF)
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2005.

  • Experimental poverty measures: accounting for medical expenditures (PDF)
    Monthly Labor Review, Volume 125, No. 8. August 2002.
    Kathleen S. Short, Census Bureau. Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

  • Owner-Occupied Shelter in Experimental Poverty Measures (PDF)
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Kathleen S. Short, Census Bureau. 2001.

  • Report on Experimental Poverty Measures 1990 to 1997 (PDF)
    Kathleen S. Short and John Iceland, Census Bureau. Richard Bavier, Office of Management and Budget. Thesia I. Garner and Patricia Rozaklis, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Donald J. Hernandez, SUNY at Albany. 2001.

  • Experimental poverty measure for the 1990s (PDF)
    Monthly Labor Review, Volume 121, No. 3. March 1998.
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Kathleen S. Short, Census Bureau. Stephanie Shipp, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Charles Nelson, Census Bureau. Geoffrey Paulin, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

  • An experimental Consumer Price Index for the poor (PDF)
    Monthly Labor Review, Volume 119, No. 9. September 1996.
    Thesia I. Garner, David S. Johnson, and Mary F. Kokoski, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Conference presentations

  • Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM): Threshold Issues (PDF)
    Brookings/Census Bureau Meetings on Improved Poverty Measurement, Washington, D.C. Nov. 7, 2011.
    Thesia I. Garner and Marisa Gudrais, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

  • Supplemental Poverty Measure Thresholds: Laying the Foundation (PDF)
    Allied Social Science Association Annual Meetings, Denver, CO. Jan. 8, 2011.
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

  • Moving to a Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM): Research on Thresholds for 2008 (PDF)
    Southern Economics Association Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA. Nov 10, 2010.
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

  • Housing and Poverty Thresholds: Different Potions for Different Notions (PDF)
    Midwestern Economics Association Annual Meeting, Evanston, IL. Mar 20, 2010.
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics. David Betson, University of Notre Dame.

  • Setting and Updating Modern Poverty Thresholds (PDF)
    Annual Meeting of the Allied Social Science Associations (ASSA), Atlanta, GA. Jan 3, 2010.
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics. David Betson, University of Notre Dame.

  • Poverty Threshold Alternatives/Choices (PDF 1.6 MB)
    Brookings/Census Bureau Conference on Improved Poverty Measurement. Oct 20, 2009.
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

  • National Academy of Sciences (NAS)-Based Poverty Thresholds: Details of Alternatives and Choices in Specification (PDF)
    Joint Statistical Meetings, Washington, DC. Aug 3, 2009.
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

  • Reconciling User Costs and Rental Equivalence: Evidence from the US Consumer Expenditure Survey (PDF)
    Annual Meeting of the Allied Social Science Associations, San Francisco, CA. Jan 4, 2009.
    Thesia I. Garner and Randal Verbrugge, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

  • Accounting for Housing Services in Consumption and Income (PDF)
    ASSA-SGE Annual Meetings, New Orleans, LA. Jan 6, 2008.
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Sylvester Young, International Labour Organization.

  • Comparing Approaches to Value Owner-Occupied Housing Using U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey Data (PDF)
    ASSA-SGE Annual Meetings, Chicago, IL. Jan 7, 2007.
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Uri Kogan, Northwestern University.

  • What Do We Know About the Value of Owner-occupied Housing Services? Rental Equivalence and Other Approaches (PDF)
    Annual Meeting of the Southern Economics Association, Charleston, SC. Nov 18, 2006.
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Kathleen S. Short, Census Bureau. Uri Kogan, Northwestern University.

  • The Role of Housing in Poverty Thresholds: 1993-2003 (PDF)
    Annual Meeting of the Southern Economics Association, Washington, DC. Nov 19, 2005.
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

  • Developing Poverty Thresholds (PDF)
    JSM, Social Statistics Section, Minneapolis, MN. Aug 10, 2005.
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

  • Incorporating the Value of Owner-Occupied Housing in Poverty Measurement (PDF)
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Kathleen S. Short, Census Bureau. 2004.

  • Owner-Occupied Shelter in Experimental Poverty Measurement with a ?Look? at Inequality and Poverty (PDF)
    Southern Economics Association Conference, Tampa, FL. Nov 18, 2001.
    Thesia I. Garner, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Kathleen S. Short, Census Bureau.

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    Last Modified Date: August 21, 2012