Abstract
‘The feminization of poverty’ has received considerable attention, both in the popular press and in the academic literature.1 It refers to the fact that, over the last few decades, a large, and increasing, proportion of poor families in the United States have been headed by females with no husband present. A second characteristic of the US population, often linked to the feminization of poverty, is the rising proportion of all families headed by females. Columns (1) and (2) of Table 3.1 document the evidence. Almost 52 percent of poor families were female-headed in 1989, compared with 23 percent in 1959. The proportion of all families headed by females rose steadily from 10.0 percent in 1959 to 16.5 percent in 1989.
I would like to thank Rebecca Blank and Sourushe Zandvakili for their comments on a previous version of this paper. This research was supported by a Summer Excellence Research Award from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a Fellowship from the Jerome Levy Economics Institute of Bard College.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bane, M. J. (1986) ‘Household Composition and Poverty,’ Chapter 9 in S. H. Danziger and D. H. Weinberg (eds), Fighting Poverty (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press).
Bassi, L. J. (1988) ‘Poverty Among Women and Children: What Accounts for the Change?,’ American Economic Review, 78(2): 91–5.
Blinder, A. S. (1973) ‘Wage Discrimination: Reduced Form and Structural Estimates,’ Journal of Human Resources, 8(4): 436–55.
Breusch, T. and A. Pagan (1979) ‘A Simple Test for Heteroscedasticity and Random Coefficient Variation,’ Econometrica, 47: 1287–94.
Greene, W. H. (1990) Econometric Analysis (New York: Macmillan).
Hagenaars, A. J. M. (1986) The Perception of Poverty (Amsterdam: North-Holland).
Moynihan, D. P. (1986) Family and Nation, The Godkin Lectures, Harvard University (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich).
Northrop, E. M. (1990) ‘The Feminization of Poverty: The Demographic Factor and the Composition of Economic Growth,’ Journal of Economic Issues, 24(1): 145–60.
Pearce, D. (1978) ‘The Feminization of Poverty: Women, Work and Welfare,’ Urban and Social Change Review, 11: 28–36.
Peterson, J. (1987) ‘The Feminization of Poverty,’ Journal of Economic Issues, 21(1): 329–37.
Peterson, J. (1989) ‘The Feminization of Poverty — A Reply to Pressman,’ Journal of Economic Issues, 23(1): 238–45.
Pressman, S. (1988) ‘The Feminization of Poverty: Causes and Remedies,’ Challenge (March—April): 57–61.
Pressman, S. (1989) ‘Comment on Peterson’s “The Feminization of Poverty”,’ Journal of Economic Issues, 23(1): 231–8.
White, H. (1988) ‘A Heteroscedasticity Consistent Covariance Matrix and a Direct Test for Heteroscedasticity,’ Econometrica, 48(4): 817–38.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 1994 Dimitri B. Papadimitriou
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rodgers, J.R. (1994). The Relationship between Poverty and Household Type. In: Papadimitriou, D.B. (eds) Aspects of Distribution of Wealth and Income. The Jerome Levy Economics Institute Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-23429-5_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-23429-5_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-23431-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-23429-5
eBook Packages: Palgrave Economics & Finance CollectionEconomics and Finance (R0)