Understanding Poverty

by Danziger, Sheldon H.

• ISBN13: 9780674008762
• ISBN10: 0674008766
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-04-01
• Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr

Summary

In spite of an unprecedented period of growth and prosperity, the poverty rate in the United States remains high relative to the levels of the early 1970s and relative to those in many industrialized countries today. Understanding Poverty brings the problem of poverty in America to the fore, focusing on its nature and extent at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Looking back over the four decades since the nation declared war on poverty, the authors ask how the poor have fared in the market economy, what government programs have and have not accomplished, and what remains to be done. They help us understand how changes in the way the labor market operates, in family structure, and in social welfare, health, and education policies have affected trends in poverty. Most significantly, they offer suggestions for changes in programs and policies that hold real promise for reducing poverty and income inequality.

Table of Contents

Contributors	vii
Preface	ix
Introduction: The Evolution of Poverty and Antipoverty Policy	1	(26)
Sheldon H. Danziger
Robert H. Haveman
I Trends and Determinants of Poverty, Inequality, and Mobility
The Level, Trend, and Composition of Poverty	27	(42)
Gary Burtless
Timothy M. Smeeding
Changes in Family Structure: Implications for Poverty and Related Policy	69	(28)
Maria Cancian
Deborah Reed
The Rising Tide Lifts...?	97	(30)
Richard B. Freeman
Mobility, Persistence, and the Consequences of Poverty for Children: Child and Adult Outcomes	127	(35)
Mary Corcoran
U. S. Poverty in a Cross-national Context	162	(31)
Timothy M. Smeeding
Lee Rainwater
Gary Burtless
II The Evolution of Antipoverty Policies
The Evolution of Income Support Policy in Recent Decades	193	(36)
John Karl Scholz
Kara Levine
Welfare Policy in Transition: Redefining the Social Contract for Poor Citizen Families with Children and for Immigrants	229	(49)
Ladonna A. Pavetti
Health Policies for the Non-elderly Poor	278	(36)
John Mullahy
Barbara L. Wolfe
Investing in the Future: Reducing Poverty Through Human Capital Investments	314	(45)
Lynn A. Karoly
III NEIGHBORHOODS, GROUPS, AND COMMUNITIES
Housing Discrimination and Residential Segregation as Causes of Poverty	359	(33)
John Yinger
The Memberships Theory of Poverty: The Role of Group Affiliations in Determining Socioeconomic Outcomes	392	(25)
Steven N. Durlauf
Community Revitalization, Jobs and the Well-being of the Inner-City Poor	417	(30)
Ronald F. Ferguson
IV CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
Politics, Race, and Poverty Research	447	(7)
Glenn C. Loury
Poverty Research and Antipoverty Policy After the Technological Revolution	454	(9)
David R. Harris
Research on Poverty and Antipoverty Policies	463	(10)
Jane Waldfogel
Notes	473	(34)
References	507	(46)
Index	553