Author Description

In 1995 the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Panel on Poverty and Family Assistance released a report describing their comprehensive examination of poverty measurement in the United States. This panel of scholars published their findings in a report titled Measuring Poverty: A New Approach2. Included in their report were recommendations for improving the official poverty measure, along with examples of how to implement the recommendations. This report was influenced by earlier research by Patricia Ruggles. In her book, Drawing the Line3, Ruggles focused on alternative concepts of poverty and methods for measuring poverty; she also proposed methods to update and revise the poverty threshold and resource definitions. In general, the NAS panel proposed eight broad sets of recommendations which focus on the following: (1) adopting a new poverty measure; (2) setting and updating the poverty threshold; (3) adjusting the threshold; (4) defining family resources; (5) identifying needed data; (6) highlighting other issues related to poverty measurement; (7) relating poverty measurement to assistance programs; and (8) linking states' needs to the Panel's proposed measure. The basic criteria for developing the poverty measure is that it should be understandable and broadly acceptable to the public, statistically defensible, internally consistent, and operationally feasible.