Search results

Ruminates on poverty research, focusing on conceptual issues, politics, & race. The bias toward econometric analysis in poverty research is lamented for want of sufficient conceptual resources, advocating a cross-disciplinary approach to complement the heavily quantitative field. More attention needs to be paid to the allocation of business cycle risks among income classes in the US & to the construction of the very concept of "poverty." It is contended that researchers should not ignore the impact of prevailing political attitudes on policy making, particularly in terms of eschewing critical analysis of these public sentiments. A radically progressive sensibility in poverty research is called for. To address the blatant link between race & poverty, the notions of discrimination in contract & discrimination in contact are presented, arguing that mechanisms of status transmission & social mobility hinge on social interactions in both spheres. Further, cultural explanations to account for racial disparities are challenged for neglecting the fact that group identifications & racial self-understandings are endogenous; the question of how groups construct notions of what constitutes a behavioral norm is posed. J. Zendejas

Explores why the US poverty rate & inequality are higher than that of 10 OECD countries via analysis of one absolute & two relative sets of poverty rates. Following a review of international concepts & measures of poverty, poverty among children & elderly are estimated & relative poverty trends for the other 10 nations tabulated. Findings indicate that the substantially higher US child poverty rate (14.7% vs 8% or less) is partially due to the relatively small allotment of national income to social transfers for families with a nonaged head as well as the wage distribution. The link between cross-national policy differentials & poverty is briefly addressed. It is concluded that while low US unemployment can reduce poverty by raising wages for low-skilled workers, the fact that not all poor will "earn" their way out of poverty & the possibility of recession limit this effect. An income package mixing work & benefits as well as other income transfers are proposed to ameliorate this particular brand of US poverty. 4 Tables, 3 Figures, 1 Appendix. J. Zendejas

Officially, poverty is defined in terms of personal or family income & signified by a line; here, statistical data are applied to this line as well as other definitions of poverty to expose more accurate levels & trends in US poverty. Absolute & relative standards of income poverty are discussed before addressing alternatives: consumption measures, health care poverty, wealth poverty, social indicators, earnings capacity, & multiperiod poverty. The distribution of cash income is explored for the US along with the income:poverty line ratio, as based on the official poverty line; a number of deficiencies in using this line are revealed. Interpretation of income & poverty trends is influenced by the manner in which the government measures price change. Accounting for all of this, analysis shows no long-term change in absolute poverty since 1970. Using these alternative definitions of poverty, population subgroup (ie, race) rates are derived. Why progress against poverty has been so slight since 1973 is considered in conclusion. 4 Tables, 9 Figures, 1 Appendix. J. Zendejas

Explores human capital investment across the life course as a means of poverty reduction. Intervention strategies targeting at-risk preschool children are considered, focusing on the effectiveness of early interventions, eg, Head Start, & a cost-benefit analysis of such programs. Investments for school-age children & adolescents include those geared toward school quality & access, dropout prevention, & school-to-work transition programs (eg, JOBSTART & the Job Training Partnership Act). Discussion of increasing the human capital of disadvantaged adults centers on job training & welfare reform, providing evidence that adult education & welfare-to-work programs are not entirely effective. A cost-benefit analysis of adult human capital investment programs is also briefly described. Policy issues pertinent to human capital investment include program targeting, design, & scale & determining an optimal investment strategy. Reasons for pursuing such strategies are provided: (1) Not all at-risk children will be identified. (2) Ongoing intervention might be required for the most disadvantaged. (3) A continuum of human capital investment opportunities might have a greater cumulative impact than any one investment at any one time. Five chronological approaches are cited as having the most merit. 7 Tables. J. Zendejas

Examines the basics of the memberships theory of poverty, which centers on the impact that group membership has on an individual's socioeconomic outcome via peer group & role model effects, social learning, & social complementarities. The most common application has been to the role of residential neighborhoods in intergenerational transmissions of poverty & inequality. The relevance of social capital is briefly discussed before turning to the range empirical support for the theory as embodied in ethnographic studies, regression analysis, quasi- & controlled experiments, & the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods. Policy implications are considered, & suggestions for policy directions made. J. Zendejas

Reviews longitudinal studies to demonstrate patterns of intra- & intergenerational economic mobility & evaluate the impact of childhood poverty &/or a single-parent household on future outcomes. Poverty persistence is examined in terms of the amount of long-term poverty & the demographic groups experiencing the most, the extent of intergenerational poverty, & changes in long-term child poverty incidence. Analysis of patterns of intragenerational income mobility focuses on the extent of such mobility & variation across demographic groups; assessing 1980-early-1990s mobility increases & its countervailing effect on cross-sectional income inequality; & comparison of income mobility between the US & other industrialized nations with less income inequality. It is suggested that parental disadvantage rather than childhood poverty is associated with or causes parental poverty & leads to negative relations between childhood poverty & child outcomes. The impact of growing up in a single-parent family on children, giving birth as a teen, & being born to a teenage mother on children's life/economic chances is assessed. The prevalence of African Americans among the long-term poor is noted, & policy suggestions are offered. 5 Tables, 3 Figures. J. Zendejas

Reviews longitudinal studies to demonstrate patterns of intra- & intergenerational economic mobility & evaluate the impact of childhood poverty &/or a single-parent household on future outcomes. Poverty persistence is examined in terms of the amount of long-term poverty & the demographic groups experiencing the most, the extent of intergenerational poverty, & changes in long-term child poverty incidence. Analysis of patterns of intragenerational income mobility focuses on the extent of such mobility & variation across demographic groups; assessing 1980-early-1990s mobility increases & its countervailing effect on cross-sectional income inequality; & comparison of income mobility between the US & other industrialized nations with less income inequality. It is suggested that parental disadvantage rather than childhood poverty is associated with or causes parental poverty & leads to negative relations between childhood poverty & child outcomes. The impact of growing up in a single-parent family on children, giving birth as a teen, & being born to a teenage mother on children's life/economic chances is assessed. The prevalence of African Americans among the long-term poor is noted, & policy suggestions are offered. 5 Tables, 3 Figures. J. Zendejas

Documents antipoverty organizing activities among women at the grassroots level in Uganda, drawing on interview & fieldwork data collected in 2000 & on secondary economic statistics. A sharp contrast is found between government definitions of poverty & that offered by these women, who sense an overwhelming sense of powerlessness, hopelessness, & inability to care for their families. Battling both oppression & severe economic underdevelopment, these women must struggle for even the most basic of amenities, often taken for granted by their sisters in more advanced nations. A feminist conceptualization of gender struggles in terms of practical vs strategic needs is developed. The efforts of Ugandan women to overcome poverty via assistance from microfinancing institutions is examined, along with more successful noninstitutional, self-help efforts, eg, the creation of rotating savings & credit associations. Limitations of the "feminization of poverty" concept in the Ugandan context are explored, & an alternative approach is suggested based on analysis of the ways in which poverty is created & sustained by gendered & racialized oppression. 33 References. K. Hyatt Stewart

Documents antipoverty organizing activities among women at the grassroots level in Uganda, drawing on interview & fieldwork data collected in 2000 & on secondary economic statistics. A sharp contrast is found between government definitions of poverty & that offered by these women, who sense an overwhelming sense of powerlessness, hopelessness, & inability to care for their families. Battling both oppression & severe economic underdevelopment, these women must struggle for even the most basic of amenities, often taken for granted by their sisters in more advanced nations. A feminist conceptualization of gender struggles in terms of practical vs strategic needs is developed. The efforts of Ugandan women to overcome poverty via assistance from microfinancing institutions is examined, along with more successful noninstitutional, self-help efforts, eg, the creation of rotating savings & credit associations. Limitations of the "feminization of poverty" concept in the Ugandan context are explored, & an alternative approach is suggested based on analysis of the ways in which poverty is created & sustained by gendered & racialized oppression. 33 References. K. Hyatt Stewart

Explores the potential for economic growth to reduce poverty, focusing on the labor market effects. It is contended that full employment can reduce poverty, but the characteristics & the context of the poor will not drop rate below 6%-7% for families or 8%-9% for individuals. Links between secular & cyclical economic growth & poverty among families are examined, finding that shifts in macroeconomic performance do not adequately predict poverty trends because of factors intervening between aggregate economic performance & the poor: demographic change (eg, rise of single-parent, female-headed families), bell-shaped income distribution curve, poverty-reduction policies, & labor market factors (eg, real wages & income inequality). The impact of real earnings & inequality levels on the official poverty rate is assessed via time-series analysis linking national family poverty rate to unemployment & pooled, cross-section time-series analysis of individual states. Further, the poverty status of workers of differential work experience, age, gender, & ethnicity is analyzed using census data. Changes in real wages & poverty reduction during the late-1990s economic boom indicates that when growth results in "genuine" full employment, ie, increased real wages & employment, poverty will fall, particularly among those groups with the highest poverty rates. A look at this growth trend in terms of how far poverty will be reduced reveals that said boom coupled with full employment is insufficient to cut two key dimensions of poverty: homelessness & hunger. Caution is advised in relying solely on economic growth for poverty reduction. 8 Tables, 3 Figures, 1 Appendix. J. Zendejas

Describes a longitudinal cohort analysis of 698 individuals born in 1955 in Kauai, HI, following them from the perinatal period through midlife (age 40). Focus was on evaluating the long-term impacts of perinatal complications, poverty, & adverse childrearing conditions on child development & later-life adjustment. Similar to findings from other longitudinal research, results indicated that perinatal complications were related to serious physical &/or psychological developmental problems only when combined with chronic poverty, parental psychopathology, or poor rearing conditions in the home. Among those at high risk because of these environmental conditions, three clusters of protective factors were identified that prevented adverse developmental outcomes: (1) affectional ties with parental substitutes, (2) at least average intelligence & scholastic competence & positive temperamental attributes, & (3) an external support system, eg, youth or church groups. Follow-up data collected during early adulthood & at midlife are reported, revealing several other factors that helped individuals overcome adverse beginnings in life. Policy implications & recommendations for future research are summarized. 22 References. K. Hyatt Stewart

Explores the issue of the widow's pension & charity in interwar Australia, drawing on an analysis of the records of the Charity Organization Society in Victoria & the views of charity workers. That the survival of the family preoccupied the state rather than the plight of widows seems to be informed by the fantasy of finding the perfect mother with the pension designed to prevent further family fragmentation & keep the mother in the home. The expectation that children would provide for their families dated from the early 19th century & is also fueled by fantasies about motherhood, children, & the family that framed the attitudes of interwar charity workers who, along with the state, assumed an emotional bond between children & widows. The interwar period evidenced much resistance to this assumption on the part of children. The 1930s professionalization of social work ushered in a shift that led to more actual listening to women & attempted directing of their behavior rather than merely observing their economic situation. It is argued that professionalization did not transform the extant moralism, but lent a new language through which to frame poverty. Analysis of studies on the role of silence or denial in families as protection from stigma or legal condemnation underpins a discussion of the impact of gossip & rumor in deriving the assumptions about poor families; at issue is how silence, secrecy, & evasion were interpreted by charity workers who viewed such behavior as deceitful & deceptive. In this light, workers employed shame to obtain information from widows & exert their sociopolitical power. In terms of legislation & charity work, familial notions of the responsible mother & doting children were enforced. However, neither widows nor children conformed to these ideas, & actual family relations were rife with the kind of fragmentation the state sought to ameliorate via the widow's pension. J. Zendejas

Explores the issue of the widow's pension & charity in interwar Australia, drawing on an analysis of the records of the Charity Organization Society in Victoria & the views of charity workers. That the survival of the family preoccupied the state rather than the plight of widows seems to be informed by the fantasy of finding the perfect mother with the pension designed to prevent further family fragmentation & keep the mother in the home. The expectation that children would provide for their families dated from the early 19th century & is also fueled by fantasies about motherhood, children, & the family that framed the attitudes of interwar charity workers who, along with the state, assumed an emotional bond between children & widows. The interwar period evidenced much resistance to this assumption on the part of children. The 1930s professionalization of social work ushered in a shift that led to more actual listening to women & attempted directing of their behavior rather than merely observing their economic situation. It is argued that professionalization did not transform the extant moralism, but lent a new language through which to frame poverty. Analysis of studies on the role of silence or denial in families as protection from stigma or legal condemnation underpins a discussion of the impact of gossip & rumor in deriving the assumptions about poor families; at issue is how silence, secrecy, & evasion were interpreted by charity workers who viewed such behavior as deceitful & deceptive. In this light, workers employed shame to obtain information from widows & exert their sociopolitical power. In terms of legislation & charity work, familial notions of the responsible mother & doting children were enforced. However, neither widows nor children conformed to these ideas, & actual family relations were rife with the kind of fragmentation the state sought to ameliorate via the widow's pension. J. Zendejas