poverty

poverty rate

the percentage of a population whose income falls below a specific poverty line or threshold

poverty rate percentage

11%

poverty line

a specific income level below which a household or individual is considered impoverished

poverty trap

self-reinforcing mechanisms that make it difficult for individuals or countries to escape poverty, leading to persistent and often generational cycles of poverty

poverty cycle

Orshansky Method

What the method is:

• A way to measure poverty developed by Mollie Orshansky in the 1960s.

• Sets a poverty line based on the minimum income needed for basic living expenses.

Steps of the method:

• Calculate the cost of the cheapest, nutritionally adequate food plan (the “economy food plan”).

• Assume families spend about one-third of their income on food.

• Multiply the food cost by three to estimate the minimum necessary income.

• Adjust thresholds for family size, composition, and whether they live on a farm or not.

inequality

the unequal distribution of wealth throughout the population