Multi-Dimensional Poverty in America: U.S. in Global Context

Tuesday, September 20, 20163:00 PM EDT

Anupama Jacob, PhD, SSRC Emerging ScholarLuke Shaefer, PhD, Discussant

Kristin Anderson Moore, PhD, Moderator

Emerging Scholars Webinar #16

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Overview of the SSRC Library

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Browse Topics

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•Graduate student or degree recipient•No more than 10 years of experience•Currently doing research on self-sufficiency issues related to SSRC topic areas •Conducting high quality research that fills a knowledge gap or addresses a self-sufficiency issue that warrants greater visibility•Working in academic, program, think-tank, or agency setting

Selection Criteria

To nominate someone for SSRC’s Emerging Scholars Initiative, email her/his name and CV to the SSRC: ssrc@opressrc.org

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• Terry-Ann Craigie, Family Structure, Stability, and Child Wellbeing

• Anna Gassman-Pines, The Implications of State-Wide Job Losses on Child Well-Being

• Julia Gelatt, Health Insurance, Health Care, and Behavior among Children of Immigrants

• Anna Johnson, The Role of Child Care Subsidies in the Lives of Low-Income Children

• Sara Kimberlin, A New Look at Chronic and Transient Poverty Using the Supplemental Poverty Measure

• Michael Long, Using Cost Effectiveness Analysis to inform policy responses to Childhood Obesity

• Katherine Magnuson, Early Care and Education: Self-Sufficiency Implications for Parents and Children

• Ruby Mendenhall, Pathways to Accumulating Assets among Low- and Moderate-Income Families

• Lenna Nepomnyaschy, Inaugural Emerging Scholar

• Natasha Pilkauskas, The Private Safety Net among Low-Income Families with Young Children

• Hannah Thomas, The Great Recession Hits Home: Asset Depletion and Foreclosure in Boston

• Kristin Turney, Paternal Incarceration and Child Wellbeing

• Luke Shaefer, What Happens When Job Loss Strikes in Low-Income Families?

• Artika Tyner, The Impact of Incarceration on Families, Communities, and Offenders

• Elizabeth Weigensberg, Using Administrative Data: Quantitative and Qualitative Insights for Workforce Development Programs

• Marci Ybarra, The Implications of Public Programs as Maternity-Leave among Single, Poor Mothers

Previous Emerging Scholars

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• Anupama Jacob, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, Azusa Pacific University (SSRC Emerging Scholar, July-September 2016)

• Luke Shaefer, PhD, Associate Professor of Social Work and Associate Professor of Public Policy, University of Michigan School of Social Work (SSRC Emerging Scholar, January-March 2013 and Discussant)

• Kristin Anderson Moore, PhD, Senior Scholar, Child Trends (SSRC TWG Executive Committee and Moderator)

Speakers

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Q&A

• Submit questions any time through the Question and Answer feature (bottom right of screen).

• Questions will be answered after the presentation.

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Multi-Dimensional Poverty in America: U.S. in Global Context

Anupama Jacob, PhD, SSRC Emerging Scholar

Luke Shaefer, PhD, Discussant

Kristin Anderson Moore, PhD, Moderator

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• Rationale for poverty measurement.

• Broad overview of different ways ofmeasuring poverty.

• Multi-dimensional poverty in America: Findings from my research.

• Policy and practice implications.

Presentation Outline

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• Well-being of citizens universal concern of

policymakers.

• Poverty in our own backyard!

• Global comparison with other advanced

nations.

Why Look at Poverty in America?

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BUT before we strive to address the problem of

poverty, we must first critically assess…

Poverty in America

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What is Poverty?

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How do we measure poverty?

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Poverty Measurement: Questions to Ask

• Why – Purpose of poverty measure

• Who – Unit of analysis (individual/household)

• What – Resources to be included

• Where – Geographic basis for comparison

• When – Time period involved

Source: Johnson, D.S. (2009). Impressionistic realism: The Europeans focus the U.S. on measurement.Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 28(4), 725-731.

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Why Do Poverty Measures Matter?

Definition of Poverty

Selection of Indicators to

Measure Poverty

Development of Poverty Alleviation Strategies

Identification of Individuals & Groups as

“Poor”

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Uni-Dimensional vs. Multi-Dimensional Poverty Measures

Housing

EducationHealth

Cash Income

POVERTY

Employment

CashIncome POVERTY

Uni-Dimensional Measure Multi-Dimensional Measure

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Resource-Based Poverty Measures:

• Absolute Income Poverty

• Relative Income Poverty

• Consumption Based Poverty

• Spotlight on U.S. Poverty Measure

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Uni-Dimensional Poverty Measures

Examples:

Minimum income needed for basic survival or basicneeds.

Poverty Line

POOR

NOTPOOR

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Uni-Dimensional Measure: Absolute Income Poverty

Poverty linked to overall standard of living in a country.Example: 50% or 60% of median national income (Europe).

Median Income

POOR

Poverty Line (% of median national income)

$100

$50

$200

$100

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Uni-Dimensional Measure: Relative Income Poverty

• Income poverty can be transitory.

• Some argue that income measures are biased because ofunderreporting of income, including government benefits.

• Focus on what family consumes or spends on goods andservices as better indicator of family’s available resources(such as savings, access to credit, assets) compared tofamily annual income.

• Compare consumption of goods to a poverty threshold.

• May provide better picture of material hardship than income.

Uni-Dimensional Measure: Consumption Based Poverty

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Measuring Poverty in the U.S.Official Federal Poverty Measure

B) Estimated amount spent on food: 33% of income.

Cost of food plan x 3 = poverty line

{adjusted for inflation & household size}

A) USDA Economy food plan: Cheapest “nutritionally

adequate” food plan.

If pre-tax cash income < poverty line →Individual/Family poor

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Supplemental Poverty Measure

• Based on recommendations of 1995 NationalAcademy of Sciences (NAS) Panel.

• Addresses flaws of official measure.

• Family’s net resources after inclusion of benefits(near-cash and tax benefits) and exclusion ofexpenses (such as medical care & child care).

• However, focus still remains on economicdeprivation.

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Multi-Dimensional Poverty: Poverty Measures from Around the

World

• Amartya Sen’s capability approach to poverty.

• Applications of the capability approach.

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Multi-Dimensional Poverty Measures

Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach

• Although monetary resources (income) important,individual’s capability to function successfully insociety far more critical.

• Basic capabilities = What individuals can achieve (“do” or “be”) based on actual opportunitiesavailable to them.

• Poverty = failure to achieve basic capabilities.

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Multi-Dimensional Poverty Measures

Amartya Sen’s Capability Deprivation: An Illustration

Commodity

(Bicycle)

Characteristics

(Transportation)

Utility

(Riding around)

Capability to Function

(Ability to Move)

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Multi-Dimensional Poverty: Applications of the Capability Approach

MACRO LEVEL (country level)

• UN Human Development Index

• UN Human Poverty Index

MICRO LEVEL (household or individual level)

• Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Index

• Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index

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• The process of development – human development -should at least create an environment for people,individually and collectively, to develop to their fullpotential and to have a reasonable chance of leadingproductive and creative lives that they value.

• It is about providing people with opportunities, notinsisting that they make use of them.

Source: http://hdr.undp.org/en/humandev

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Macro Level Capability Deprivation Measure:UN Human Development Index (HDI)

• Human Development Reports published annually since 1990.

• 188 countries ranked in terms of three main dimensions:

Education

Health

Standard of Living

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Macro Level Capability Deprivation Measure:UN Human Development Index (HDI)

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• Published in UN Human Development Report from1997 to 2009.

• HPI measure of capability deprivation covering 95countries.

• HPI used country averages to reflect aggregatedeprivations in health, education, and standards ofliving.

Sources: http://www.ophi.org.uk/multidimensional-poverty-index/mpi-faqs/#2http://pressroom.ipc-undp.org/the-human-poverty-index-a-multidimensional-measure/

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Macro Level Capability Deprivation Measure:UN Human Poverty Index (HPI)

Health

Education

Standard of Living

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1997-2009

Micro Level Capability Deprivation Measure:Multi-Dimensional Poverty

Education

Living StandardHealth

Multi-Dimensionally Poor

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Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Index (GNH) –MICRO LEVEL

Micro Level Capability Deprivation Measure:Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Index (GNH)

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• Replaced HPI in 2010.

• Developed by economists Sabina Alkire and JamesFoster (Oxford Poverty & Human DevelopmentInitiative, University of Oxford).

• International measure of acute poverty applied toover 100 developing countries.

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Micro Level Capability Deprivation Measure:UN Global Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index

(MPI)

UN Global Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index (MPI)

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Micro Level Capability Deprivation Measure:UN Global Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index

(MPI)

Source: http://www.globalpolis.org/global-multidimensional-poverty-index-bref/

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• Paucity of multi-dimensional poverty research in the U.S.

• This research explores how a multi-dimensional measurecan provide a more lucid picture of poverty anddisadvantage in America today.

• Although the MPI was developed primarily for developingcountries, there is discussion on how this measure can beadapted for developed nations.

• This research contributes to the field by exploring how theMPI can be applied in the U.S. context.

Multi-Dimensional Poverty in America: An Application

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• Examine profiles of poverty in America using an author-createdMulti-Dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) through the lens of race.

• MPI complements income poverty by measuring the number ofdeprivations a poor person faces simultaneously with regard to:

Education

Health

Living Standard

• 3 dimensions that Sen suggests as intrinsically valuablecapabilities.

Multi-Dimensional Poverty in America: Main Objective of My Research

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EducationDoes not have at least

high school degree

Living Standard

Identified income poor using NAS-based poverty

measure

HealthDoes not have

access to private or public health

insurance

My Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index

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• National-level analysis.

• Merged individual-level data from U.S. Census Bureau (PublicUse Research Files) & Minnesota Population Center censusmicro data (Integrated Public Use Microdata Series – CurrentPopulation Survey [IPUMS-CPS]).

• Adults aged 18 years or older.

• 2009-2010 time period.

- Analytic sample = 295,856 individuals

Multi-Dimensional Poverty in America: Data & Sampling Frame

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Multi-Dimensional Poverty in America: Findings from My Research

Figure 1. Multi-Dimensional Poverty Rate by Race in 2009-10

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0

5

10

15

20

25

30

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White Black Hispanic Asian

Perc

ent

Multi-Dimensional Poverty in America: Findings from My Research

Figure 2. Percent Deprived in Each Dimension Among Multi-Dimensionally Poor by Race in 2009-10

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

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Income Poor Lack ofEducation

Lack of HealthInsurance

Perc

ent

White

Black

Hispanic

Asian

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Multi-Dimensional Poverty in America: Findings from My Research

Figure 3. Percent Deprived in Two Dimensions Among Multi-Dimensionally Poor by Race in 2009-10

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Income Poor &Lack of Education

Income Poor &Lack of Health

Insurance

Lack of Education& HealthInsurance

Perc

ent

WhiteBlackHispanicAsian

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Multi-Dimensional Poverty in America: Findings from My Research

Figure 4. Poverty Rates by Poverty Measure & Race in 2009-10

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0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

OfficialMeasure

NASMeasure

MPI

Perc

ent

WhiteBlackHispanicAsian

Multi-Dimensional Poverty in America: Findings from My Research

Summary of Findings

• Whites lowest percent poor under all three measures.

• Multi-dimensional poverty rate highest for Hispanics.

• Lack of education and access to health insurance moreimportant drivers to multi-dimensional poverty amongHispanics compared to other racial groups, whileincome poverty and lack of access to health insurancemore important for Blacks.

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Policy & Practice Implications

• Multi-dimensional index can provide high-resolution lens on whopoor are – how do disadvantages cluster together for certainindividuals?

• Crafting policies that address racial differences in deprivations.

• “Social investment” – investing in people so they can become self-sufficient.

• Coordination and Integration of services – Integration acrosssystems.

• Generating political will to look at poverty more holistically –lessons from other countries?

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Thank You!

Questions?

Email: ajacob@apu.edu

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Multi-Dimensional Poverty in America: Findings from My Research

Racial Distribution in Research Sample (295,856 individuals)

68.0%14.0%

11.5%

4.6%

White

Hispanic

Black

Asian

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Luke Shaefer, PhD, Associate Professor of Social Work and Associate Professor of Public Policy, University of Michigan School of Social Work

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