1. Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 1 Poverty Definition of poverty Distribution of poverty

2. Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 2 Definition of Poverty (World Bank) Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not being able to go to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time. Poverty is losing a child to illness brought about by unclean water. Poverty is powerlessness, lack of representation and freedom.

3. Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 3 Definition of Poverty U.S. Census Bureau U.S. Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who is poor. If a family's total income is less than that family's threshold, then that family, and every individual in it, is considered poor.

4. Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4 Poverty Concepts Absolute measure of poverty: A specified level of income or expenditure below which a person is considered to be impoverished. Relative measure of poverty: A specified percentile of the income distribution below which a person is considered to be impoverished.

5. Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 5 Poverty Concepts Poverty line: Census Bureau definition of money income below which a family is considered in poverty. Poverty gap: The amount of income it would take for an impoverished family to lift them to the poverty line.

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7. 7 Distribution of Poverty Overall poverty rates mask important issues of the distribution of poverty across family types, racial, ethnic, and other groups within a society. Consider the incidence of poverty by family characteristic in Table 5.

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