SOCI 1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Economic Policy Institute, Extreme Poverty
4 Oct 2016
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You can afford a small apartment, car, food, clothing. Truly poor are barely surviving in rural areas in industrializing countries. You are poor compared to the average american. Must learn to cut corners with food, clothing and shelter. Cannot afford basic necessities: absolute poverty - less than a day, extreme poverty less than . 25 a day. Has less than everyone else: relative poverty median income: ,000, define poverty as less than 1/3 of that (,666) Our definition is relative to what others earn. So if the average income increases ,000, poverty threshold will as well. Inequality is a better predictor of social behavior than income. Makes more sense to define poverty in relative terms. But since 1960, us government adopted an absolute definition based on an economy food budget x3. You are poor if your pre-tax income is less than ,880 for one person or ,300 for a family of 4.
