Research Catalog

Title

A new understanding of poverty : poverty measurement and policy implications / Kristian Niemietz ; [foreword by John Meadowcroft].

Author

Niemietz, Kristian.

Publication

London : Institute of Economic Affairs, 2011.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Additional Authors

Institute of Economic Affairs (Great Britain)

Description

247 pages : illustrations; 20 cm.

Summary

In recent years, poverty has generally been understood in "relative" terms. That is, people are regarded as poor if they earn less than some benchmark relative to average earnings. The policy response of income transfers, which are used to address the perceived problem of relative poverty, has often led to serious problems that actually reduce long-term opportunities for poorer people. The author proposes an entirely new way of measuring poverty. If this measure were applied, public policy would orientate itself towards creating the conditions that allowed the poor to become better off. This monograph is essential reading for all involved in the poverty debate. Its approach to the measurement of poverty and its policy conclusion are original and soundly based on evidence.

Series Statement

Research monographs (Institute of Economic Affairs (Great Britain)) ; 65

Uniform Title

Research monographs (Institute of Economic Affairs (Great Britain)) ; 65.

Subjects

• Messung
• Poverty > Measurement
• Poverty > Research
• Armut

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 222-244).

Contents

• Machine generated contents note: 1.Introduction -- pt. I HOW TO MEASURE POVERTY AND WHY IT MATTERS -- 2.How to measure poverty -- Relative poverty -- Absolute poverty -- Subjective poverty -- Material deprivation -- 3.The measure matters -- 4.The understanding of poverty over time -- Early poverty measures -- Criticisms of Rowntree's work -- and Rowntree's response -- The discovery of `relative poverty' -- 5.The `rediscovery of poverty' in the 1960s and the rebound of poverty in the 1980s -- 6.Different measures, different policies -- 7.Growth versus redistribution -- Implications for taxation -- Perverse results from the relativist framework -- pt. II TOWARDS A NEW MEASURE OF POVERTY -- 8.The flaws of relative measures -- `Relative to where?' The geographical question -- `Relative to whom?' The social group question -- `Relative to when?' The intertemporal dimension -- How relative is relative enough? -- Uber-relativism and the anti-growth ideology
• Note continued: Misuses of relative poverty figures -- 9.The flaws of income-based poverty measures -- Income as an incomplete snapshot -- Poverty narratives: income versus expenditure -- Benefits in kind -- 10.The role of product markets and price developments -- Below the price level aggregate -- Regional price differences -- Frugal innovation -- 11.Towards an expenditure-based `Consensual Budget Standard Approach' -- The problems of relative measures summarised -- Quasi-absolute measures are little improvement -- The relative advantage of material deprivation measures -- Shortcomings of material deprivation measures -- Consensual material deprivation -- Beyond a consensual material deprivation measure: towards a new measure of poverty -- 12.Advantages of the new poverty measure -- pt. III POVERTY MEASUREMENT AND GOVERNMENT POLICY -- 13.Poverty measurement in the UK -- Relative child poverty target -- `Deep poverty' -- Quasi-absolute child poverty target
• Note continued: Persistent poverty target -- Combined material deprivation and low income poverty target -- Severe child poverty -- So what do we know about child poverty? -- 14.Child poverty policies -- Employment or redistribution? -- The sixteen-hours trap -- The benefit maze -- Couple penalties -- 15.Tenets of an alternative anti-poverty strategy -- Old-fashioned economic growth -- Competition, entrepreneurship, open markets -- Removing poverty traps -- Lower effective marginal tax rates -- Benefit simplification -- Removing couple penalties -- School choice -- Work requirements -- Reform interactions -- 16.Conclusion.

ISBN

• 9780255366380
• 0255366388

OCLC

• ocn704083633
• 704083633
• SCSB-9547711

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries