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Cited by 255

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 60 of the 60 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Rethinking the Sociological Measurement of Poverty

Brady, D.·2003·Social Forces
DOI 10.1353/sof.2003.0025
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Abstract

Despite serious methodological problems, quantitative studies of poverty by U.S. sociologists predominantly rely on the official US. measure. After reviewing the shortcomings of the U.S. measure, this article examines several theoretical and methodological advances in poverty measurement. After synthesizing literature on poverty measurement, I argue that ideal measures of poverty should: (1) measure comparative historical variation effectively; (2) be relative rather than absolute; (3) conceptualize poverty as social exclusion; (4) assess the impact of taxes, transfers, and state benefits; and (5) integrate the depth of poverty and the inequality among the poor. Next, this article evaluates sociological studies published since 1990 for their consideration of these criteria. Due to sociology's neglect of these criteria, this article advocates for three alternative poverty indices: the interval measure, the ordinal measure, and the sum of ordinals measure. Finally, using the Luxembourg Income Study, I examine the empirical patterns with these three measures, across advanced capitalist democracies from 1967 to 1997. Estimates of these poverty indices are made available for future research.

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Metadata

Authors
Brady, D.
Venue
Social Forces
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2003-03-01
Volume
81
Issue
3
Pages
715-751
ISSN
  • 0037-7732 (ISSN-L)
  • 1534-7605
DOI
10.1353/sof.2003.0025
OpenAlex
W2148482412
Cited by
255
References
60
FWCI
48.83
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed

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