European Measures of Poverty and "Social Exclusion": Material Deprivation, Consumption, and Life Satisfaction

Autor/in	Gilbert, Neil
Titel	European Measures of Poverty and "Social Exclusion": Material Deprivation, Consumption, and Life Satisfaction
Quelle	In: Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 28 (2009) 4, S.738-744 (7 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0276-8739
Schlagwörter	Poverty; Social Isolation; Life Satisfaction; Measurement; Income; Social Indicators; Quality of Life; Disadvantaged; Fiscal Capacity; Demography; Foreign Countries; United States + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Armut; Soziale Isolation; Lebensvollendung; Messverfahren; Einkommen; Social indicator; Sozialer Indikator; Lebensqualität; Finanzmittel; Demografie; Ausland; USA
Abstract	The conventional view of poverty in the European Union countries is based on a relative measure, which defines all those with incomes below 60 percent of the median as poor. In the U.S., poverty is defined according to an absolute measure--the federal poverty line computed by the Census Bureau--which was $21,200 for a family of four in 2008 (somewhat higher in Alaska and Hawaii). In tallying up national rates of poverty, both the absolute and relative measures are adjusted for family size. Although these income-based measures generate social indicators that are concrete, plausible, and convenient to use, they fail to convey the experiential quality of poverty as a condition of life--living hungry, cold, unable to meet normal social expectations, and in dread of what the future holds. They also overlook the possession of other resources and sources of support that can alleviate the conditions of poverty. This essay describes how lessons from Europe may be implemented to overcome these omissions by assessing levels of material deprivation and including measures of consumption and wealth in addition to income. (Contains 1 table.) (ERIC).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10