U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Economic Working Paper | Choices in Defining and Estimating Poverty Thresholds: Focus on the U.S. Supplemental Poverty Measure

Excerpt:  “Poverty is most often defined in terms one’s ability to meet his/her basic or minimum needs for survival or participation in society. Basic needs can be defined in terms of inputs or outputs, or the costs of providing for these at some minimum level. … To measure poverty, several fundamental questions must be addressed, for example: (1) how to define poverty; (2) how to measure economic resources available; (3) how to adjust for household size; (4) where to set the poverty line; and (5) how to adjust for consumer prices and regional cost of living in thresholds. Monetary poverty thresholds are the focus of this study; and thus, most of the attention will be directed at the last two questions.”